Tennis: Tsonga books US Open quarter-final berth
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Jack Sock 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (7/9), 6-2 to reach quarter-finals of the US Open.
NEW YORK (AFP) - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reached the quarter-finals of the US Open for the second successive year on Sunday with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (7/9), 6-2 victory over American Jack Sock.
The ninth seed from France fired 54 winners to oust 26th-seeded Sock, the lone remaining US man in the field.
In match pitting two players with fearsome forehands, Tsonga boasted the deadlier precision, although Sock didn t go quietly, saving a match point in the third-set tiebreaker to force the deciding fourth set.
Once he had, however, 2008 Australian Open runner-up Tsonga reasserted himself, powering to a 5-2, 40-0 lead.
The Frenchman had a little hiccup with a double fault before belting an unreturnable serve to close it out.
"It was really difficult because he played great in the third, but I have no regrets about this set because he played well," Tsonga said. "I just tried to play my game in the fourth."
He will face either world number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic or US Open debutant Kyle Edmund of Britain for a semi-final berth.
The 23-year-old Sock, who didn t face a break point as he stunned 2014 champion Marin Cilic in the third round, remains in search of a first Grand Slam quarter-final appearance.
Earlier, Italian seventh seed and 2015 runner-up Roberta Vinci reached the quarter-finals for the fourth time with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 win over Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine.
Vinci, 33, will face either second seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany or Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic for a place in the semi-finals.
"I love to play here. The atmosphere, the crowd, everything is great," said Vinci who knocked out Serena Williams in the semi-finals in 2015 before losing the final to compatriot Flavia Pennetta.
"Lesia is a great player. I was a little tired towards the end and I had some physical problems."
The remaining four last-16 matches take place on Monday when world number one and six-time winner Serena Williams tackles Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan.
Carla Suarez Navarro meets Simona Halep while Agnieszka Radwanska takes on teenager Ana Konjuh and two-time champion Venus Williams faces Karolina Pliskova.
