Tsonga, Del Potro round out final eight
It has been a year of firsts for Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He reached his first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open. He won his first ATP title in September at Bangkok, and after this weekend he has three more “firsts.” In front of his home crowd in Paris, Tsonga won his first career Masters Series title, defeating David Nalbandian in three sets. The win clinched Tsonga’s appearance in his first Masters Cup in Shanghai and also propelled him into the top ten for the first time.
At #7, Tsonga is now the highest ranked French player on the tour. In fact, with Tsonga and Simon both being ranked in the top ten, this is the first time since 1988 (Yannick Noah No. 8; Henri Leconte No. 10) that there are two Frenchmen ranked in the top ten. Back in January before the season began, who would have thought that Tsonga would be the top-ranked French player and not Richard Gasquet. That is very surprising.
The last spot in the Masters Cup will go to Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro. JMDP is now ranked a career high of #8 in the world and will also be playing in his first Masters Cup. Like Tsonga, Del Potro has had a big-time breakthrough year, winning four titles, breaking into the top ten, and reaching the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam. The sleeping giant is finally awake.
