TSONGA STUNS MELBOURNE
Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga stunned Melbourne on Thursday by knocking second-seed Rafael Nadal out of the Australian Open.
Tsonga, who knocked Andrew Murray out of the tournament in the opening round, hammered Nadal in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in less than two hours to book a place in the final of the Australian Open.
The 22-year-old was unflappable against his three-time French Open winning opponent, finishing the match with a 50-love game and preventing Nadal from getting a break point until the second game of the third and final set.
An ace on match point summed up Tsonga's dominance and he will now face either defending champion Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic in the final.
Up to the semi-final stage, Nadal had not dropped a single set throughout the tournament whilst Tsonga had consistently upset the bookmakers, knocking out number eight seed Richard Gasquet and number 14 seed Mikhail Youzhny as well as Murray in the earlier rounds.
Tsonga, world ranked 38 and competing in only his fifth Grand Slam, admitted that even he had been surprised by his phenomenal performance.
"It is just amazing, unbelievable, nothing could stop me today," he said. "I tried to hit everything and everything went in, so what can I say?
"I was moving on the court like never I move. Everything was perfect.
"My family said it is like a dream for them, everybody in France is happy for me. I will try to do my best for the final."
Tsonga now has the opportunity to become the first French winner in Australia since Jean Borotra in 1928 and is the first French finalist since Arnaud Clement seven years ago.
He is also the eighth unseeded player to reach the Australian Open final since the ATP rankings began in 1973 and is almost certain to climb from his current 38 when the new rankings are released next week.
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