ByRichard Pagliaro | Saturday, February 11, 2017
Alexander Zverev rallied from a set and a break down defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-4 to set up a Montpellier final with Richard Gasquet.
Photo credit: Open Sud de France
Dropping serve to start the second set today, Alexander Zverev took decisive action.
The 19-year-old phenom wound up and splattered his Head racquet to the court with such force he nearly decapitated the head right off the throat.
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Zverev handed the mangled stick to a kid as a souvenir.
Then he proceeded to deconstruct Jo-Wilfried Tsonga with ruthless baseline drives.
The fourth-seeded Zverev fought back from a set and a break down defeating Tsonga, 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-4, to reach the Montpellier final for the first time.
Hammering second-serve returns, Zverev converted four of six break points.
The 19-year-old Zverev advanced to his first final since St. Petersburg last September when he defeated ninth-ranked Tomas Berdych and reigning US Open champion Stan Wawrinka in succession to capture his first career ATP title.
Zverev will play three-time champion Richard Gasquet in the final. It will be the first meeting between the 22nd-ranked Frenchman and 21st-ranked German.
In an all-French semifinal, the 30-year-old Gasquet converted five of seven break points dismissing Benoit Paire, 6-2, 6-2, in 68 minutes.
The match was a rematch of the 2013 Montpellier final, which Gasquet won 6-2, 6-3—the first of his three Open Sud de France titles.
“I’m in shape,” said Gasquet, who beat Paire for the fourth time in as many meetings. “I had big physical preparation this winter.”
French fans were eager for the prospect of an all-French final as Tsonga hit five of his seven aces and did not face a break point squeezing out the opening set.
Dropping serve to start the second set, Zverev cracked his Head racquet to the court. He dismantled Tsonga’s backhand at times winning seven of the next eight games.
Driving the ball with depth and ambition, Zverev raced out to a 4-1 second-set lead before Tsonga withstood several break points in the sixth game.
The teenager stamped a love hold for 5-2. Zverev used a drop shot for triple set point and when Tsonga stiff-armed a backhand error, Zverev had the set on an eight-point run.
Tsonga committed 23 errors compared to nine for Zverev in the second set.
Battling through a long service game to open the decider, Zverev held serve.
Tsonga bounced his sixth double fault off the tape to drop to deuce in the sixth game. An attacking Tsonga pressed forward drawing a pair of errors to hold for 3-all.
Serving at 4-5, Tsonga scattered an inside-out forehand wide to face match point. One final error ended the two hour, three-minute match as Tsonga gave Zverev a respectful handshakes and apparent words of encouragement at net.