French star Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat his compatriot Lucas Pouille 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4) in one hour and 50 minutes to reach his fifth final at the Moselle Open in Metz, an ATP 250 event.
Tsonga has reached his fifth final in Metz. Last year he became the first player to win four Metz titles.
The player aims at becoming the ninth French winner in Metz in the first eleven editions of the French tournament.
Neither Tsonga nor Pouille were able to break serve in the whole match. Pouille did not convert the only break point of the match at 3-3 in the opening set.
Tsonga fended off a set point at 5-6 in the tie-break before winning the final two points to win the first set 8-6.
Tsonga was not able to create any break points in the second set, which came down to the tie-break. The three-time Metz champion earned a mini-break at 4-4 in the tie-break and held on his serve to close out the match two points later.
“I am extremely happy with the way I played. I was very solid. I served very well, especially on the key points. The match was over a few points and I was extremely happy”, said Tsonga.
Tsonga set up a final against Aljaz Bedene, who came back from one set down to beat Benoit Paire 4-6 6-1 6-2 after 1 hour and 31 minutes. The Slovenian player converted four of his six break points. In the second set Bedene raced out to a 5-0 lead and sealed the second set on his first point. Bedene got an early break at the start of the second set and sealed the win with a cross-court forehand passing shot.
Tsonga won his only previous head-to-head match against Bedene at Roland Garros in 2013.
