Jo-Wilfried Tsonga mounted a stunning comeback on Saturday at the Erste Bank Open 500, clawing from a set and a break deficit against Ivo Karlovic to reach his second Vienna final.
Tsonga set a final clash against top seed Andy Murray after saving one match point to prevail in a 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(6) thriller. Karlovic held four break points to take a double break lead in the second set and led by a mini-break twice in the deciding tie-break, but Tsonga would flip the script in reaching his 23rd ATP World Tour final.
The sixth seed is set to square off against Murray in the title match between two former Vienna champions, after David Ferrer was forced to withdraw ahead of the second semi-final with a left leg injury. Murray continues his push towards the top spot in the Emirates ATP Race To London, with a Vienna title a critical part of his No. 1 ambitions. Murray must win the ATP World Tour 500 tournament, in addition to a title run next week at the BNP Paribas Masters, while hoping Novak Djokovic fails to reach the Paris final.
"I knew that David had an injury at the beginning of the week," said Murray. "He played a very long match yesterday, so that was unfortunate for him. He's one of the more robust players and doesn't often have too many niggles. He must have been in quite a bit of pain. It's unfortunate for him, but I'll try to get ready for the final and use today as a rest day. It will be a hard match, but I'm motivated to finish the season strong. Being in another final after a tough week is good."
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The first semi-final at the Wiener Stadthalle proved to be a server's paradise, with Karlovic and Tsonga thumping their big deliveries throughout the contest. Karlovic relinquished just four points through his first five service games and would strike first at 5-all. Tsonga looked poised to escape from a 0/30 hole with a pair of service winners, but two consecutive double faults would give his Croatian opponent the first break.
Tsonga pressed to force a tie-break a game later, striking a sublime lunging forehand winner that clipped the side tramline, but Karlovic turned aside a break point and eventually claimed the opener after 43 minutes. The 6'11" right-hander looked to pull away for good early in the second set after taking the lead in the third game and holding four additional break points for a commanding double-break advantage. But Tsonga had other ideas, mounting a sudden assault against the Karlovic serve. The Croatian had been broken just three times entering the semi-finals, but he would concede two late in the second set on Saturday, as Tsonga broke back to love, reeling off 10 straight points. With momentum abruptly swinging to his side of the net, he would force a decider.
The match would be decided in a tie-break, where Karlovic snatched a mini-break on two occasions. The 37 year old had the match on his racquet at 5-4, but Tsonga would draw level once again and saved a match point at 6-5 with a perfectly executed serve and volley approach. He would seal the win two points later, emerging after two hours and 35 minutes with the stunning victory. It was Tsonga's first win over Karlovic since the final of the ATP Challenger Tour event in Surbiton, England, in 2007.
"I got a little nervous at the end of the first set and lost it," said Tsonga. "Ivo did well to break me. It was not easy to come back, but he gave me opportunities and I took them. I just tried to stay focused."
Despite the loss, Karlovic extended his 2016 aces lead over John Isner to 50. Seeking a record-tying sixth season with the most aces, Karlovic now leads Isner 1,103 to 1,053 with one tournament remaining. Only Goran Ivanisevic has claimed the aces title in more seasons on the ATP World Tour.
In Sunday's championship, 2011 Vienna champion Tsonga will look to overturn a four-match losing streak against 2014 titlist Murray. The Scot leads the FedEx ATP Head2Head 13-2, claiming their lone meeting of the year in the Wimbledon quarter-finals. They have previously met once in an ATP World Tour final, with Murray taking the title at the 2011 Aegon Championships.
Murray will appear in his 11th final of the year, seeking a seventh title. It marked just the second time in Ferrer's 1,024-match career that the Spaniard had conceded a walkover in an ATP World Tour event. The other came in Valencia in 2009.
"After yesterday's match, I finished with an injury in my left leg," said Ferrer. "The problem is in the muscle and now I will wait 48 hours for the MRI results. I have to be ready for next season."
Defending Champs Back In Final
Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo improved to 7-0 together in Vienna, moving one step closer to retaining their title with a 4-6, 6-2, 12-10 victory over second seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan. The Polish-Brazilian duo converted their third match point in the Match Tie-break to reach their second team ATP World Tour final. They will face Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin for the title.
FINAL PREVIEW: The Erste Bank Open 500 championship on Sunday features top seed and World No. 2 Andy Murray, who won the title two years ago against No. 6/ 2011 winner Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. This will be the 16th meeting between the two with Murray winning the past four meetings. He owns a 13-2 career record against Tsonga. In their only previous final meeting at 2011 Queen’s Club in London, Murray prevailed 36 76 64.
Murray tries to continue his dominance against Frenchmen. On Thursday, Murray defeated Gilles Simon in the 2R to improve his winning streak to 21 consecutive matches against Frenchmen. His last loss to a French opponent came to Simon in the quarter-finals of Rotterdam in February 2015.
Murray comes in with a 13-match winning streak (26-2 in sets) and he is appearing in a personal-best and ATP World Tour season-high 11th final of the year (6-4). He’s trying to win a career-best seventh title and tie Novak Djokovic for most titles on the ATP World Tour this year. His six titles ties his personal record in 2009. Murray is trying to catch Djokovic and become the No. 1 player in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time. Murray came into Vienna trailing the Serb by 1,415 points in the Emirates ATP Rankings. With a title, Murray will cut the difference to 915 points. Djokovic has 2,300 points to defend from last year’s titles at ATP Masters 1000 Paris and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London (will drop on Nov. 7). Murray has 800 points dropping off on Nov. 7 (600 from Paris, 200 from London). He has an additional 275 points from last year’s Davis Cup coming off on Nov. 28 (year-end ranking).
Tsonga is appearing in his first ATP World Tour final since last September when he captured his 12th career title in Metz (d. Simon). Tsonga, who won the Vienna title in his debut five years ago (d. del Potro), saved match point in his third set tie-break win over Ivo Karlovic on Saturday. Tsonga is trying to defeat a Top 2 opponent for the first time since beating No. 1 Djokovic in the 3R at ATP Masters 1000 Toronto in 2014. He went on to capture the title.
The 31-year-old Frenchman has a 12-10 career record in ATP World Tour level finals. Tsonga is also still in contention to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. He is 520 points behind Marin Cilic, who currently holds the eighth and final position. If Cilic loses to Nishikori in the Basel final and Tsonga wins Vienna, the Frenchman will trail by 320 points going into ATP Masters 1000 Paris on Monday.