Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga rallied from a set down to beat Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the final of the Erste Bank Open on Sunday, clinching his second title of the season and increasing his chances of qualifying for the year-end ATP World Tour Finals in London.
With the win, Tsonga will move to no. 7 in the 2011 rankings list. Only the top eight will qualify for the year-end competitions in London next month.
“It was an amazing match. At the beginning it was really tight,” said Tsonga, who lost all his past three matches against Del Potro.
“I was a bit down after losing that tiebreaker but I didn’t give away any easy points afterward,” he added.
Del Potro still has a slim chance to make it to the year-end championships. He’s currently 11th in the race.
“I was close, had my chances but did not take them. In the important moments, Jo played much better than me,” Del Potro said.
“After that re-break he played more aggressive, served unbelievable. It was really a different match after that moment,” he added.
