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Rotterdam, February 18
Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga chalked up his 400th career victory in beating Czech Tomas Berdych to reach the final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament final in Rotterdam on Saturday.
Tsonga, 31, went through 6-3 6-4 to move one victory away from his first title since September, 2015.
He will face either Belgium’s David Goffin or fellow Frenchman Pierre-Huguet Herbert in the final.
Tsonga needed just one break of serve to snaffle the opening set against the 2014 champion and eased through after a repeat at the start of the second. Dominant throughout, he did not face a single break point.
Pliskova in final
Doha: Karolina Pliskova and Caroline Wozniacki will meet each other in the Qatar Open final after both won two matches on a long, soggy and gruelling Friday in Doha.
On another day punctuated by heavy showers and thunderstorms, meaning long delays for the players, Czech Pliskova beat Zhang Shuai of China 6-2 6-0, then Dominika Cibulkova in an exciting semi-final 6-4 4-6 6-3.
Similarly Dane Wozniacki first beat American qualifier Lauren Davies 7-5 6-1, then Olympic gold medallist Monica Puig 6-1, 6-2, finishing past midnight.
Puig was also playing her second match of the day having earlier completed her victory against Daria Kasatkina of Russia, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
“It’s been really tough conditions with all the waiting and everything,” said Wozniacki. Pliskova, speaking before she knew who her final opponent would be, said “every final is tough”.
The pair have met three times before, with Wozniacki winning on every occasion. However they have not met since 2014. Pliskova, 24, is ranked number three in the world, Wozniacki, who is two years older, is number 18.
Incredibly, it also means the rain-ravaged tournament may even finish on time, despite the schedule being battered because of the terrible weather conditions throughout the week.
Friday was one of the worst days yet, with delays up to around five hours because of thunderstorms. — Agencies
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