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Tsonga steamrolls Gil

Tsonga steamrolls Gil

01/21/2012 01:59:34 AM

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has given Portugal's Frederico Gil an almighty hiding, dumping his helpless opponent in just 91 minutes to confirm his place in the fourth round.

The No.6 seed, who was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the 2008 final at Melbourne Park and then also made the semi-finals here two years ago, was in a ruthless mood at Hisense Arena as he blasted Gil off the court 6-2 6-2 6-2.

Tsonga was unbelievably efficient when presented with opportunities on Gil's serve, breaking the first five times he had the chance to as he eventually finished with six from seven overall, with two breaks in each set.

Gil actually had a better first-serve percentage than his opponent, landing 71 percent to only 54, but Tsonga then converted 84 percent of his to only 48, and he struck 35 winners for the match compared to just 13 from Gil.

Having only once been to the second round of a Grand Slam from 13 attempts before this week, 12 months ago at the Australian Open, Gil's inexperience as a third-round first-timer showed as he was completely overwhelmed.

On the six occasions he did have the chance to break Tsonga's serve, Gil was unable to do so, the worst example coming in the second game of the match when he led 0-40 but then lost five points in a row as Tsonga eventually held.

Tsonga's next opponent on Monday will be either Japanese No.24 seed Kei Nishikori, who boasts a 2-0 win-loss record against the Frenchman including just last week at Kooyong, or his compatriot Julien Bennetau, with the pair locked at 4-4 in their eight career meetings to date.

World No.1 and defending champion Djokovic will continue his campaign later on Saturday against Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, with the winner set to meet either local hero Lleyton Hewitt or up-and-coming Canadian Milos Raonic, the 23rd seed.

Spaniard David Ferrer, the fifth seed, faces off against 27th-seeded Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela, and the winner will then take on either Serbian No.9 seed Janko Tipsarevic or 17th-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

And British No.4 seed Andy Murray, last year's beaten finalist, will duel with Michael Lllodra, with either Llodra's 14th-seeded countryman Gael Monfils or Kazakhstani Mikhail Kukushkin to meet the winner.

 
Photograph Copyright : Getty Images

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