Monday, February 27, 2017

Tsonga wins third Open 13 title

Tsonga wins third Open 13 title

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Lucas Pouille 6-4 6-4 to claim the 2017 Open 13 title.

Tsonga had previously won the tournament in 2009 and 2013 and beat defending champion Nick Kyrgios to reach the showpiece and he carried that momentum into the final.

Tsonga struck in the first game of the match to break Pouille's serve and was untroubled as he closed out the first set.

Pouille was never able to threaten Tsonga, who won all but six points on serve and did not face a break point in the contest.

By contrast Tsonga enjoyed particular success against Pouille's second serve and broke his opponent's resistance again in the seventh game of the second set to move within two games of victory.

He made sure of his triumph in short order, fittingly doing so with successive service holds to love.

“I’m extremely happy I won this week. I played really well. I was very solid until the end. It’s my 14th title and I hope it won’t be the last. I feel great physically. I have worked really hard since the beginning of my career. It’s amazing to win two titles in a row," Tsonga said.