Tsonga stuns Djokovic to win Thailand Open
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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga stunned Novak Djokovic to win the Thailand Open on Sunday and help erase his loss to the Serbian in the final of this year's Australian Open.
Tsonga, ranked 20 in the world, fell to his knees after the 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 victory against the world number three in only his second tournament back at the top after missing three months from knee surgery.
The win, in only his second career final, was sweet revenge for the Frenchman after he lost the Grand Slam final eight months ago to the Serbian.
But he admitted that he originally did not fancy his chances.
"I didn't believe that I would win," he said. "But I played unbelievable, it was like a dream. But that's how you are obliged to play against an opponent like Novak."
The hard-fought victory, which came in 92 minutes, denied Djokovic his fourth trophy of the season and the chance to move closer in the rankings to world number two Roger Federer.
Tsonga saved two break points in the final game, falling to his knees in joy as Djokovic sent a return long on match point.
The defeat was the 14th of the season for Djokovic against 58 wins and left the 21-year-old 10-6 in career finals.
"I couldn't do it today, I lost to a great player," said Djokovic, who earned his last trophy in May at Rome.
"But all credit to Jo for winning his first title. I'm sure we will be seeing a lot more of him. He did a great job today."
Djokovic, who finally cleared his jet-lag after last weekend's Davis Cup in Europe, will take a few days off at the Thai resort island of Koh Samui, avoiding the standard tennis pattern of rushing to the airport after the final.
- AFP
