Tokyo, Japan (My Sportsbook) - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mikhail Youzhny each won their respective semifinal matchups at the Japan Open on Saturday. The second-seeded Tsonga needed just under an hour to defeat fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils, 6-3, 6-3. Tsonga broke Monfils three times in the match and didn't allow his opponent to garner one break point throughout. Tsonga now leads the all-time series against Monfils, 2-0, having also defeated him in 2008 in Bangkok. The 24-year-old Tsonga will battle for his fifth career title against surprise finalist and unseeded Youzhny, who topped eighth-seeded Lleyton Hewitt, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5. Youzhny defeated three consecutive seeded players to reach the final, the 10th of his career. Like Tsonga, Youzhny will try for his fifth career title and first since January, 2008 in India. Saturday's semifinal marked the fourth time Youzhny and Hewitt have faced off, and the Russian got the best of his Australian counterpart for the first time. Youzhny and Tsonga have faced off only once -- in the 2008 Australian Open -- and Tsonga posted a straight set victory, 7-5, 6-0, 7-6 (8-6). The 2009 Tokyo champ will claim $300,000. |
