Roger Federer reached his 801st win with the dismantling of Tomas Berdych. The Czech had trouble getting into Federer's service games. Federer faced NO break points all match, and broke Berdych three times. Berdych was broken in the first game of the first set, which a tone for the match. Federer won 6-4 6-3 to reach his first ever Paris Masters Final. He will take on Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Tsonga beat a very good John Isner 3-6 7-6 7-6 in a near replica of their last match. Last time they played, Isner lost the first set 4-6 and came back to win 7-6 7-6. This time though, Isner wasted three match points and lost in the tiebreak. Tsonga showed a strong will with the home crowd behind him. Continually denying Isner the match.
The last time Roger Federer faced Jo-Willy Tsonga in a Masters event was in Canada. Jo-Willy replicated his result against Federer at Wimbledon, beating the Swiss Maestro 7-6 4-6 6-1. Federer got revenge at the U.S. Open, destroying Tsonga in the quarterfinals 6-4 6-3 6-3. This match will all depend on serving.
Keys to the match:
If Roger Federer serves the way he did against Tomas Berdych, he will be a heavy favorite. Federer's serve sets up the rest of his game, and when his serve isn't on, he struggles to hold. His serve percentage will have to hover around 63-66%.
If Tsonga serves the way he did at Wimbledon (coming back from 2 set deficit, facing 1 break point last three sets) he could shut down Federer's return game.
Tsonga has shown he can be vulnerable on the second serve and if Federer gets ahold of the match early like he did against Berdych, all bets may be off.
One thing that will linger in Federer's head, however, is that he gave up a 2 set lead and lost a five set match for the first time in his career. No matter how down and out Tsonga looks, he can always use the crowd to get back in the match like he did today against Isner.
My Prediction:
The slow courts at the Paris Masters will allow Federer to win his 802nd ATP tour match. Game, Tset, match Federer 6-3 7-5. Federer will win his first Paris Masters Title, and be in good position for the ATP World Tour Finals in two weeks.
What do you think.
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