It has a good year in ATP events for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The Frenchman has won four ATP titles in Rotterdam, Marseille, Lyon, and Antwerp. The fact that his ranking sits at No.15 reflects the tough year the veteran has endured at Grand Slams, with just a single quarter-final on the year at the Australian Open. This was followed by disappointingly early exits at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open.
Tsonga continued his strong run in ATP events by surging into the semi-finals in Vienna courtesy of a 7-6, 6-2 win over Alexander Zverev. Four titles in a single season already represents Tsonga’s personal best, and as the only remaining seed in Vienna will be favoured to add a fifth title to that haul.
Tsonga will face Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber for a place in the final after the thirty-three year-old German defeated Argentina’s Diego Schwartzmann 7-5, 7-6. The Frenchman owns a commanding 10-1 head-to-head record with Kohlschreiber, with the German’s lone win coming in their second meeting in Germany seven years ago.
In the bottom half of the draw Kyle Edmund continued to take advantage of a seedless section after Grigor Dimitrov’s late withdrawal. He took care of Jan-Lennard Struff 6-2, 7-5 to advance to the semi-finals.
Richard Gasquet has enjoyed a strong start to the tournament with wins over Feliciano Lopez and 2nd seed Dominic Thiem. The veteran Frenchman came undone against compatriot Lucas Pouille, as the younger man emerged the winner 7-6, 6-1. Pouille will face Edmund in the bottom half semi-final. The pair met earlier this season when Pouille was forced to retire in Brisbane due to a foot injury that would also contribute to his first round loss at the Australian Open.
