Well the ATP Paris Masters grows ever closer to an end, as today we had the two men's semi finals matches, as the four remaining players had it out to see who would get through to the final.
In the first match of the day, Federer took on Tomas Berdych, who previously had beaten Andy Murray, in what promised to be a tight contest. However Federer as he proved throughout the week, continued his dominant form as he didn't allow Berdy into the match at any point, as he broke the big Czeck early on in the 1st and again in the 2nd, as he closed out the match in straight sets winning 6-4, 6-3. In the last week or so, Federer definitely has re-announced his arrival as a player, who after having taken some time out to deal with some nagging injuries, is fresh as a daisy and looks to be as in good form as he has ever been. This also marks Fedora's first Paris Masters final, so it would be fair to say he stands a good chance of lifting the title there.
The second match of the day was however, by far the better of the two, as the home favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga took on the gentle giant John Isner. And straight off Isner came out on form, breaking Tsonga's serve in the first set, and his own serve was inpenetrable, allowing him to take the first set. However in the 2nd and 3rd sets, there was nothing to separate the two men except the tiebreaks, with Tsonga winning the 2nd set tiebreak, he was in danger of losing the match at 5-6 on his own serve, but Isner gifted him a few get out of jail cards, which Tsonga finally took to push the match to a final tiebreak. And in the tiebreak, Tsonga once again bossed Isner to seal it and win the match, earning him a place in his second Paris Masters final, digging out that win in 3-6, 7-6, 7-6.
This was a terrific match throughout and featured plenty of great tennis from both players, Tsonga in particular thrived off the energy he got from the home crowd, whom provided a great atmosphere in backing their native player. The match also marked the 2nd biggest match of John Isner's career, the biggest of course being the US Open quarter final earlier this year, as it was a chance for the big guy to reach his first 1000 Masters series final. But there were honestly times in the match I thought it would go Isner's way, and he had a few opportunities, but ultimately he didn't take them. Regardless of his loss, Isner put up an incredible fight and a formidable display of serving throughout the tournament, and the fact that his serve wasn't broken once throughout the match was quite remarkable. Isner as a player has also undoubtedly come on in leaps and bounds this year, having already reached the quarter finals of the US Open, nearly defeating Nadal at the French Open (in the 1st round), and having picked up two titles, he is fast becoming a nightmare for the other players on the tour. And it was a bit of a pity that Isner didn't make it to the final as he played so well, and it would have been a fine end to an excellent season, but I'm sure we will see more from the big fella next year.
So that's the final set up tomorrow between Federer and Tsonga, which promises to be a really good one, although its hard to tell which way it will go. My money is on Federer to lift the title, although how easy the match will be is not certain, I'm hoping it will go the distance and Tsonga has already defeated Fedo twice this year, but its not beyond the Frenchman's abilities to win either. Tsonga has already won in Paris 3 years ago, having defeated David Nalbandian in the final back in 2008. And if you ask me who is the better French player between Gael Monfils and Tsonga, there is no comparison, as Tsonga is by the far the better player. Not to take away from Monfils fine achievements of reaching the Paris Masters final the last two years running, but Tsonga has the talent to make the push and take it that bit further, and he deservedly is the current No.1 French player, as he was three years ago at this time too. He is for my money also one of the special players out there who deserves to be in the top 10, just like Juan Martin Del Potro, and this year has been a great one for him, so we will see if he can lift that 2nd Masters title.
Right so more will follow tomorrow after the much anticipated final is over. Should be a good one!
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