[5] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. [15] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)
Confidence is a fickle friend in the world of individual sports and nowhere is it more obvious than on the tennis court. There are so many variables that affect the level of confidence a player feels when he or she steps on court and sometimes all it takes is one small thing to ruin the mental state of a player. Zverev should have been riding a wave of confidence today and he seemed likely to win the set after he got the first break; however, as many fans have come to realize after years of following tennis, the match is not over until the last ball is struck and Tsonga fought back to force a tiebreak .
When you are tired, your ability to fight through adversity is often negatively impacted and after losing the break lead, Zverev seemed to lose his belief and started playing a tad too tentatively. Against a player like Tsonga, who has similar weapons at his disposal that was a fatal mistake by the young German. Yet, based on their history, many perhaps expected Zverev to shrug off the first set and come roaring back in the second, I certainly did. However, we forget how demanding tennis is and how much energy Zverev has expended this season to win five tournaments.
Tsonga was in no mood to go to three sets today and he dug deep in the second set to make sure that would not happen. Although his first serve percentage in the second set was a lowly 45%, he protected it well with some brilliant play. In contrast, Zverev uncharacteristically did not protect his serve well and made a few too many errors on critical points, which was his undoing. Tsonga won 7-6(6), 6-2 to claim his place in the semifinals.
SOURCE OF IMAGE: Creative Commons
