ABU DHABI // Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has set sights on forcing his way back into the Top 10 in the new season after closing his Mubadala World Tennis Championship campaign with a confident 6-7, 6-3, 10-3 win over world No 10 Tomas Berdych.
Starting 2016 at No 10, Tsonga had climbed up to No 7 by mid-April, before a leg-injury cut short his French Open campaign. He dropped to No 12 in June, and a month later was back in the Top 10 before injury struck again, this time the knee, forcing him to retire from his US Open quarter-final against Novak Djokovic.
“When you are injured, you cannot give your best. You cannot beat those guys,” said Tsonga, the current world No 12 who will usher in the New Year at Saturday’s Coldplay concert at the du Arena on Yas Island. “So, the most important thing for me in 2017 is to be consistent.
“To be honest, I have set targets every year and every year it has been difficult. Anyway, I set my targets really high so that I can go as far as possible.
“The target for me in the short term is to get back into the Top 10, be consistent and stay there in the Top 10 so that I am able to play against these top guys every week, create opportunities to win against them, and go far in the big tournaments.”
Tsonga, like Berdych, will be opening his 2017 campaign in Doha next week, and the Frenchman believes he can take plenty of positives from his two matches in Abu Dhabi, especially the way he fought back to win the second set against Berdych and then the super tiebreak.
“It was a good match for me,” he said. “Of course, there are things I could have done better, but I played well. I started returning well in the second set. When I am returning well, I am a better player.”
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Sharjah Wanderers 20-25 Dubai Tigers (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries Gormley, Penalty
Cons Flaherty
Pens Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons Caldwell 2
Pens Caldwell, Cross
