Rogers Cup Semis - Tsonga dumps Federer, sets up Murray clash in the semis

Montreal, Canada – I have decided to suspend all bandwagon hostilities with Jo-Willy Tsonga and call a truce after witnessing the most bizarre match I have seen him play. Make that the most bizarre and fantastic match ever. What am I referring to?

Why the stunning upset of Roger Federer at the Rogers Cup quarterfinals on Friday . Way to go Jo. You finally did it and surprised us!

Tsonga staged what has to be the most remarkable comeback in the game when he upended world No.1 Roger Federer 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-6 (3). Federer looked to be in control of the match, cruising to the finish line – a game away from sealing the deal at 5-1 in the third – after dropping the first set and recovering handily in the second.

Then things took a decided turn for the worse and all went wrong for Federer. Tsonga punished Federer for his lax attitude as he recovered his composure to rattle off five games in a row and take the 5-6 lead in the third. He even had three match points at 5-6, 0-40. But Federer managed to fend those off and force the tiebreak. With that heroic feat, Federer looked like he might dispel any obnoxious attempts by Tsonga.

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It was not meant to be as the wheels came undone (wait we saw that earlier this season against Djokovic and Murray?) and at 3-3 in the tiebreak, Tsonga seized four points in a row to complete the coup de grace.

Next up for the Frenchman is Andy Murray who cruised into the semis with an easy victory over Nikolay Davydenko.

Tennis Betting Line: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Andy Murray

Match Time: 01:00 PM Eastern Time Saturday August 16 2009

Tennis Betting Analysis: Andy Murray and Jo-Willy Tsonga are level 1-1 in head-to-heads. The world No.3 payer beat Tsonga in 2007 in Metz (hard) 6-3, 6-3. Whereas, Tsonga beat Murray in the opening round of the 2008 Australian Open 7-5, 6-4, 0-6, 7-6(5) – a victory that propelled him through the tournament and saw him upend Rafael Nadal in the semis en route to a runner-up finish (l. to Djokovic).

This should be an exciting semi-final billing and if the names on the card live up to their lofty standards then tennis bettors are in for a real treat. With Andy Murray owning the ranking advantage and overall having had the better season, he will enter as the favourite. Tsonga though really improved his value today and after the heroic comeback against Federer (playing with an injured shoulder after causing himself harm in the diving volley that saw him win the first set tie-break) there is no end to his abilities. We have always known he had it in him, we have just been frustrated by his inconsistency.

Tennis Betting Verdict: Murray has a lot to be worried about. He has a tendency to falter on big occasions, most recently, at the Wimby semis when he lost to Andy Roddick. Tsonga will have received a huge confidence boost from his quarterfinal win over Federer. He has to believe he can beat Murray as well.

Tennis Free Picks: Tsonga in three sets