Jo-Wilfried Tsonga said before Roland Garros that he didn’t think that the French men had played well enough on red clay this season to pose a serious threat this year. But after his 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 victory over the creative Italian Fabio Fognini, the fifth seed might prove himself wrong.
Fognini reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final last year at Roland Garros by pulling off a series of improbable wins, but he couldn’t contend with Tsonga's straight-ahead, booming attack. Tsonga rained huge serves down upon him, dominated numerous points from the baseline with his crushing forehands and did a good job moving forward and taking care of volleys at the cords. He ended the match with 40 winners; seven of those which were aces and won 72% of his first serve points.
He will play the winner of the match between his countryman Gilles Simon and Swiss Stan Wawrinka.
Berdych hangs tough
Tsonga wasn't the only big hitter to gain the fourth round when No. 7 Tomas Berdych overcame fellow big server Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4. It was tricky match for both men who knew that they would find it almost impossible to break. But Berdych, who has had a fine season on the red clay this year, was the steadier and more advantageous player on the day. The former Roland Garros semi-finalist is 17-4 on clay this season, reaching the semifinals of Monte Carlo and the final of Madrid. He knew he was in for a tussle with 6-foot-10 inch Anderson, who has improved a ton over the last year.
"I played him even in Australia, even in Madrid, I played him in the first round, and he was the toughest opponent until I get to the semis," said Berdych, who will play the winner of the Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Marin Cilic match. "So it really meant something. Even today, I was expecting really, really tough one, because, you know, he's coming up. He's playing well. It was really, really close."
Granollers too
Marcel Granollers of Spain saved three match points and moved ahead with a 7-6(1) 3-6 6-1 3-6 7-5 win over Malek Jaziri Tunisia in match that was stopped for darkness on Thursday. Granollers will now face France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu, who on Thursday stunned big John Isner in a record setting five- setter.
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