A resurgent Roger Federer swept past local favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 7-6 (7/3) to clinch his maiden Paris Masters title on Sunday and send a deafening warning to his rivals ahead of the ATP World Tour Finals.
Swiss third seed Federer, who moved to one shy of Rafael Nadal’s record of 19 Masters titles with a stunning display of sheer brilliance, became only the second player with titles at Roland Garros and Bercy — the two men’s tournaments in Paris.
“I’m very happy with my performance today,” said Federer, who captured his 69th career title from 99 finals. “I’m amazed by how well I play. I don’t think Jo played a bad match. It’s good to complete the tournament so solidly.”
Photo: EPA
Tsonga brushed aside suggestions he was tired after spending almost three hours on court in Saturday’s semi-final victory over John Isner of the US and said Federer deserved to win.
“I think he did a good start and after that he played more relaxed, it was easier for him,” Tsonga told a press conference. “Today, I felt good, but Roger was just better than me. I was in a good shape. I did not play very well all week, it was not my best tennis. I was a bit better today, but against a player like Roger it is surely not enough.”
Federer has had a mediocre season by his standards with the 16-time Grand Slam champion having won only one tournament going into this month.
He is now on a 12-match winning streak after his title in Basel the previous weekend and two Davis Cup wins in September, just before the ATP World Tour Finals at London’s O2 on Sunday.
Federer had been facing the prospect of failing to win either a Grand Slam or a Masters title for the first year since 2001.
His focused, steady attitude contrasted with Tsonga’s muttering and the former world No. 1’s sharp first serve proved too much for the sixth seed to handle as he became the second player after Andre Agassi to win both Paris tournaments.
Tsonga, who won his only Masters title at Bercy in 2008, had two break points in the first game, but Federer used his first serve to hold him off.
The Swiss moved 4-0 up after a return sent wide and a double fault earned him a double break, as a frustrated Tsonga struggled for ideas in front of a home crowd of 14,500.
Federer was already one set up when the clock ticked past the half-hour mark.
However, Tsonga fought back in the second set, earning a break point in the fourth game with a sizzling cross-court passing shot, but he blew his chance by sending a forehand wide.
Tsonga faced a break point in the 10th game, but he staved it off at the net and the contest went into a tiebreak.
Federer kept his cool and went 4-0 up, winning it 7-3 on his third match point when Tsonga fired a forehand long after 1 hour, 26 minutes, losing to the Swiss for the fourth time in six meetings this year.
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one