Tsonga beats Pouille to win third Open 13 title
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga became Open 13 champion for the third time as the Frenchman saw off the country’s brightest young tennis talent in Lucas Pouille to claim a straight sets victory in the final.
Tsonga is ranked six places above world number 17 Pouille – eight years his junior at the age of 23 – and his experience and pedigree shone through in Marseille to win 6-4 6-4.
The 2008 Australian Open finalist had previously won the tournament in 2009 and 2013 and beat defending champion Nick Kyrgios on Saturday to reach the showpiece.
And he carried that momentum into the final, seeing off a player in Pouille who beat Rafael Nadal en route to the US Open quarter-finals last year.
TWEENER ALERT!
Superb from @la_pouille (HT @doublefault28)! Is this even better than @ThiemDomi‘s effort in Rio? pic.twitter.com/rOGSvIiE3F
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 26, 2017
Tsonga struck in the first game of the match to break Pouille’s serve and was untroubled as he closed out the first set.
Pouille was never able to threaten Tsonga, who won all but six points on serve and did not face a break point in the contest.
By contrast Tsonga enjoyed particular success against Pouille’s second serve and broke his opponent’s resistance again in the seventh game of the second set to move within two games of victory.
He made sure of his triumph in short order, fittingly doing so with successive service holds to love.
VAINQUEUR DE L’OPEN 13 PROVENCE@tsonga7 pic.twitter.com/fIZLBtKBUL
— Open 13 Provence (@Open13) February 26, 2017
