Nadal looked aggressive in the opening game finding with break of serve after being down 0-40 moved to 2-0 lead with a break point chance in the third game.
After having the tape on his foot adjusted Rafa seemed to lose his momentum briefly but managed to steady himself for a 5-1 while Tsonga sprayed errors all over the court.
Once again Nadal ‘s ground strokes looked accurate, aggressive and more penetrating than in recent months but eventually he was dragged down into playing poorly because Tsonga’s free flowing errors prevented him from finding any rhythm.
Nadal took a break and went ahead 3-2 in the second set which should have been a straight forward path to the semi finals. Rafa was within two points of a straight sets win when Tsonga found some form and decided to give one last push.
It took two hours and 49 minutes, and a ridiculous string of errors from Jo but eventually Rafa booked his semi final spot where he will play Andy Murray who appeared to suffer from stomach problems in his match.
It’s not hard to argue after such an average (at best) performance that Tsonga is in desperate need of a coach.
Q. You said that you played well the beginning and then you played bad as the match was going on. Do you think it’s a fitness issue?
RAFAEL NADAL: No. Well, I have problems on my left knee. That’s the thing. I’m not feeling great. I don’t know what’s gonna happen in the next match, because gonna be a big match against one of the toughest opponents on tour, and probably I don’t arrive in my perfect conditions to that match.
But, you know, we talking about physical performance, I am feeling great, no? I am not tired today now after three hours’ match. My fitness is perfect. It’s not a problem, that. I don’t know the problems.
