Friendly fire has knocked out Muhammad Ali-lookalike and second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Brisbane International.
Compatriot, good mate and junior hitting partner Richard Gasquet on Friday night upset the 2008 Australian Open finalist 1-6 6-4 6-2 in a topsy-turvy quarterfinal at Pat Rafter Arena.
Gasquet, the tournament seventh seed, will play Czech Radek Stepanek in the semifinals after Spaniard Fernando Verdasco plays another Frenchman, Paul-Henri Mathieu, in the last four on Saturday.
In a typically unpredictable French display, Tsonga pulled out all stops in a scintillating first set but was his own worst enemy once world No.23 Gasquet found his range.
The 23-year-old world No.7 double-faulted to hand Gasquet the second set with just his first break point of the match and then repeated the effort in the fourth game of the third set.
The talented Gasquet, 22, didn’t look back and broke again in the eighth game to seal the match and his third victory over his friend in five career matches.
His entertaining 95-minute effort turned the tables on last year’s memorable fourth round encounter at the Australian Open when Tsonga claimed victory in four sets.
It was a sad finish for Tsonga, who was the favourite for the inaugural tournament after drawcard Novak Djokovic was eliminated in the first round, and a far cry from his electrifying start.
Tsonga, who trained with Gasquet at the same Paris tennis academy, produced an array of deft drop shots and powerful forehand winners to look unbeatable in taking the first set in 27 minutes.
Czech eighth seed Stepanek came from a set down to cause his quarterfinal upset over Sweden’s Robin Soderling on Friday afternoon.
Like Tsonga, world No.17 and tournament fourth seed Soderling took the first set easily but was outsmarted by the Czech’s tactical variety to go down 2-6 6-4 6-3 in one hour 45 minutes.
Stepanek also had to fight back from a break down early in the last set but immediately broke back in a crucial piece of counter-attacking play.
It was only world No.26 Stepanek’s second victory over the Swede in six encounters.
“It’s difficult to play against [Stepanek],” Gasquet said of his semifinal opponent.
“He’s very clever on the court and he’s a really good player when he’s confident.”
But the former world No.7, who was expected to challenge Roger Federer along with the likes of Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray more than a year ago, felt he was in the sort of form that shaped him as a genuine contender for this month’s Australian Open.
“It’s important for me to beat a big guy like [Tsonga],” he said.
“It’s good for me to begin the season with a semifinal before a Grand Slam and have a lot of confidence.
“He’s one of the best players in the world and can beat anybody. It was difficult for me [early].
“I broke him at 5-4 [in the second set] and after that confidence was on my side.”
Today’s results:
Men’s Singles quarterfinals
Radek Stepanek (CZE) d Robin Soderling (SWE) 2-6 6-4 6-3
Richard Gasquet (FRA) d Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 1-6 6-4 6-2
Women’s Singles semifinals
Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d Sara Errani (ITA) 6-3 6-1
Marion Bartoli (FRA) d Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) 4-0 ret.
Women’s Doubles semifinals
A Groenefeld/V King (GER/USA) d M Jugic-Salkic/S Peng (BIH/CHN) w/o
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