Tsonga returns to a final after wait of 16 months

By Bill Scott Feb 12, 2011, 16:07 GMT

Rotterdam, Netherlands - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga denied Ivan Ljubicic a third career final at the ABN-AMRO World Tennis Saturday, with the French winner posting a 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) victory.

Tsonga, his ranking down to 18th after injuries and down-time during 2010, will compete in his first ATP final since October, 2009, when he won Tokyo. The eighth seed owns five ATP trophies.

Tsonga will bid to add to that total on Sunday when he plays either top seed and defending champion Robin Soderling or Serb Viktor Troicki. Both players own winning records against Tsonga, who now stands 2-2 with Ljubicic after his victory in just over 90 minutes.

Tsonga admitted he needed some adjustment time on court after going through his quarter-final on Friday without firing a shot, due to the illness pullout of opponent Tomas Berdych.

Ljubicic, 31 and ranked 15th, lost Rotterdam finals in 2005 to Roger Federer and 2007 to Mikhail Youzhny, the losing finalist a year ago to Soderling.

Tsonga said that his serve which produced seven aces was key to his game on the day.

'I served well today but I was tight at the start. Ivan doesn't give you any rhythm, he's always difficult to play. I'm just really happy to get into the final. It will be a tight match tomorrow, but I will give everything. Either guy I play will mean hard work on court.'

Ljubicic is a longtime presence at the Ahoy stadium and was playing the event for the ninth time. He lost the first set on a break of serve but was broken to love as he tried to served to level the match with a 5-3 lead in the second set.

Tsonga eventually took the match into a tiebreaker and advanced on his second match point.

'It's a good sensation to be in the final,' said the Frenchman, bidding to become the fifth from his nation to take the honours in Rotterdam. 'It's been a long time for me.

'This win was good for my confidence, it was good for me in every way, I didn't play at my best level, with the win is the most important thing.'

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