Australian Open
Tsonga books quarters spot
2013-01-21 08:53
Melbourne - Former finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
sang the praises of new coach Roger Rasheed after he reached the
Australian Open quarter-finals Monday in his quest for a maiden Grand
Slam win.
The 2008 runner-up was too strong for French compatriot
and ninth seed Richard Gasquet, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in 2hr 20min
on Rod Laver Arena, and now will face either Roger Federer or Milos
Raonic in the last eight.
It was seventh seed Tsonga's second win
over his close friend at the Australian Open, having beaten Gasquet in
the fourth round on the way to the 2008 final, where he lost to Novak
Djokovic.
Tsonga said his game was benefiting from working with
his new Australian coach Rasheed, the former mentor to Lleyton Hewitt
and Gael Monfils, as he seeks his Grand Slam breakthrough.
"He's
giving me an extra motivation. It's great because he's always positive.
He wants maybe more than me to win. He's incredible," Tsonga said.
"So
I try to be at his level and have exactly the same motivation because I
think he can move some mountains, because he's very motivated.
"It's different because last year I was here by myself. This year, I'm with Rog. It's just great to be with him.
"He gives me good advice, so I hope I will continue to play good tennis and hope we'll have some good victory together."
Tsonga
was largely in control of the match with four service breaks, 37
winners and a strong serving performance winning 81 percent of his first
serves.
He broke Gasquet's opening service game and although down three break points, served out for the first set.
Gasquet
hit back by winning the second set with his only service break of the
match in the fourth game, only for Tsonga to close it out with one
service break in the third set and two in the last.