Thirteenth-seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga continued his streak of upset wins at this week’s Rogers Cup after beating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday’s semifinal match. Tsonga advanced to the final where he will face two-time champion Roger Federer.
This is Tsonga’s third ATP Masters 1000 final, having triumphed in Paris in 2008 and finished runner-up at the same event to Roger Federer. He’s aiming for an 11th career title.
“I’m feeling good,” said Tsonga. “I have been waiting for this moment for a couple of years now.
“It’s good because I have always believed in myself during all these years,” he added. “It will for sure make me stronger and keep my motivation at the highest level.”
Tsonga reached this stage having upset higher-ranked players along the way, including former champions Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.
Dimitrov shared his thoughts about the match.
“It’s not an easy loss for me considering that I had played such a good match yesterday,” said Dimitrov. “I thought he played a good match, but I think I didn’t raise the bar.
“Still, I have to take the positive side of the week. Coming to Cincinnati I feel quite good. I don’t put my head down for a second here, because it’s good progress for me. But I’m still disappointed with the loss. I’m not going to hide that. I have to think positive.”
