Dazzling Tsonga Destroys Nadal to Reach Final

The French qualifier Jo-Wilfried Tsonga today reached the final of the Australian Open after thrashing the No2 seed Rafael Nadal in straight sets in Melbourne today, winning 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.

The 22-year-old Tsonga blew the Spaniard off the court in under two hours with a succession of thumping base-line strokes, not to mention a powerful first serve which brought him 17 aces to Nadal's two. He will now meet the winner of the second semi-final between Roger Federer and the Serbian Novak Djokovic, which takes place tomorrow.

Tsonga has been the surprise package of the tournament, knocking out Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet and Mikhail Youzhny in earlier rounds. And he made another flying start today, breaking Nadal in the second game with a cross court backhand. A further break followed in game eight as Tsonga wrapped up the opening set in just 32 minutes, and he continued to rule the roost in the second set, securing another break in the eighth game before serving out to take a two-set lead.

Nadal found himself with three break points in game two of the third set, but Tsonga saved all of them before breaking his opponent again in the very next game. The Spaniard was unable to find a response, and an unforced error allowed the Frenchman to break again in the seventh game before sealing the win with an ace.

"I'm not quite I realize what I've achieved," said Tsonga, ranked 38th in the world. "I was just hitting everything I could. I tried to hurt him. I just don't have words to describe what I've done. It was an enormous match in every area of my game. He couldn't stop me and I'm in the final."