Dolgopolov Outlasts Tsonga in a Topsy Turvy Match

This was a match that looked to be in the grasp of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s hands up a set and a break against Alexandr Dolgopolov. Every time it looked like he had done enough to pull away from the match, a rash of unforced errors would creep in. By the time the fifth set came around, his fitness levels weren’t good enough to turn it around, and he ended up losing quite convincingly 3-6 6-3 3-6 6-1 6-1.

This was the match-up of two of the most energetic players on tour, though energetic in two different ways. Tsonga moves well going forward, and that’s how he gets his power by throwing his whole body into the ball. Dolgopolov on the other hand, moves well side-to-side. The first time I saw him play, I thought he was so confident with how well he was moving to the ball, with his feet constantly moving all the time. I think he would make quite a good dancer, though maybe not in the ballroom area. Now I’m convinced his feet are always moving regardless of whether he is playing well or not.

The only other player I’ve seen that does the same thing with his feet is Rafael Nadal, but he does it with a different intensity. Dolgopolov doesn’t have the same attention-to-detail. He’s quick, and sometimes he forgets to slow down when he arrives to the ball, so he can still make plenty of errors, even though tennis is a game that highly depends on movement. He’s quick in between points, and has a quick service action also.

Dolgopolov still has a lot to learn, but sometimes raw skill and athleticism is more fun to watch. He strikes me as a player that hasn’t had much training in the mental department. He could probably cut back on the errors if he would just slow down sometimes, like when he has a short ball and can put it away without having to cover large amounts of court.

It was one-sided to begin with. Dolgopolov was nervous and making plenty of simple errors, while Tsonga was explosive and powerful. I wanted to watch the match from Dolgopolov’s perspective, but it was quite hard to, because the fluctuating scores in this match were pretty much all to do with Tsonga, whether he played brilliantly or shockingly. I really thought Dolgopolov would have approached this match more aggressively just because that’s how he plays, and also because it’s useful to bring some weapons to the table, when your opponent has plenty to hurt you with. In any case, it was a good enough tactic for today.

Tsonga was in great form to start with, executing his very aggressive brand of tennis. The two and three shot combos were reliably winning him many points and it looked like he had the winning formula going. Big serve, flat forehand and then a volley to finish it off. Dolgopolov could barely pull off a passing shot, and his movement seemed like a useless weapon against Tsonga’s power and efficiency.

But it turned out to be a rollercoaster of a match for Tsonga with plenty of highs and lows, with too many of the lows coming straight after he had built himself a crucial lead in a set. Many of the games where he lost serve, he practically threw them away with three or so errors. After Tsonga broke serve at 3-2 in the second set, every game he played in that set onwards was filled with errors.

Just as soon as he appeared to be in trouble down a break in the third set, and his tennis going down the drain, he picked it up again and his all-court play was in full flow again. Tsonga was in a good mood again, smiling and joking with someone on the back of the court, a ballkid or linesman, I don’t know. Life was good again. But it didn’t last long. Another rash of unforced errors creeped into his game, losing serve to love with three bad errors, followed a great backhand crosscourt passing shot from Dolgopolov several metres behind the baseline. This was one of his few passing shots in the first three sets of the match, though this would later improve for him.

Fortunately for Tsonga, Dolgopolov can be loose and careless too, handing back the lead to Tsonga with some bad errors of his own. This time, Tsonga served it out comfortably.

The fourth set marked a more aggressive approach from Dolgopolov, finally making more use of his shotmaking ability. Like what happens with many other players, it was probably a sign of relaxation knowing that he was no longer in a position to win the match. First he had to level the match before he could even think about winning. He held serve in the opening game with his best game of the match hitting numerous winners, and generating racquet speed that I hadn’t seen from him the entire match. This earned him a break the following game. But soon afterwards, it became clear that Tsonga’s game had disappeared again.

Actually, not only had his game disappeared, but so had his concentration. After he went down a double break, his mind started to focus on other things and he was stretching often in changeovers, not only struggling with some physical problems but also thinking a lot about them too. It became a one-sided affair after that, and by the end of the match, Tsonga didn’t really have the capabilities to make a comeback. His legs were gone, and he tried to thump them with his hands but it didn’t work. Dolgopolov was relaxed by now, with Tsonga no longer being able to put pressure on him, and closed it out easily.