Nadal Left in Shock As Tsonga Ends His Aussie Bid ; AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Jan 24, 07:07 PM

RAFAEL NADAL was in a state of stunned disbelief today following his semi-final defeat at the hands of unseeded Frenchman Jo- Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

In one of the biggest upsets in men's tennis for years, the world No2 was hammered into submission 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 by a muscular opponent who has never before progressed beyond the last 16 at a Grand Slam championship.

"We have to accept today he played unbelievable tennis," said the Spanish second seed (below) with a shrug.

"Playing the ball very hard every time, his serving was unbelievable.

"In the backhand he didn't miss not once. Forehand, every time he does the forehand was a winner, so congratulate him. That's it." Nadal had thought he was playing well enough to win the tournament.

But that was before he ran into manmountain Tsonga, who has played all fortnight well above his world ranking of 38.

"I was playing very fine, very good, but not for beating Tsonga," Nadal said.

"Right now he is in the best moment of his career. He's playing with zero pressure.

Everything is going good for him.

So when you are playing like this, every ball is going to the line.

"Every ball is going inside. It is not the real level, I think. It's not his real level. Sure, he can play like this, but not every week. It's impossible. Running unbelievable, physically very explosive, everything.

What I can say? "Nothing was bad about his game. I have to find something. I'm gonna think all night." Even the winner was astonished by his own success. "It was ridiculous," said the 22- year-old from Le Mans, who is playing in only his fifth Slam tournament.

"For me it's a big dream. It's just amazing. I played unbelievable." Tsonga, who has been hampered by back and shoulder injuries, knocked out seeds Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet and Mikhail Youzhny on the way to the last four but raised his game another notch to overwhelm Nadal.

"Rafael plays the same tennis all the time," Tsonga said. "His level is very high and it's very difficult to play against him. But I was just concentrating on my own game. I was moving on the court like never I move, so everything was perfect." Tsonga, who has not yet won an ATP tour title, will play either world No1 Roger Federer or third seed Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, in Sunday's final.

He said: "I will do my best on the court, so I know it's going to be difficult to beat me."

(c) 2008 Evening Standard; London (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved. Nadal Left in Shock As Tsonga Ends His Aussie Bid ; AUSTRALIAN OPEN
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