The 2012 Qatar Open wrapped up on Saturday with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga picking up a victory for his eighth career title in the warm-up event for the Australian Open. Tsonga got lucky to make it to the championship match against Gael Monfils considering he only advanced because Roger Federer was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Qatar Open 2012 Final Results: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Wins After Roger Federer Withdraws
Tsonga defeated Monfils in straight sets with 7-5, 6-3 final scores after falling behind 3-1 in the opener. The Frenchman talked about the early setback in an interview with the Associated Press.
“At the beginning, it was bit difficult. He broke me very early and it was tough,” Tsonga told the AP. “But in my head, everything was right, OK, I’m one break down. I will continue to play my game and make him run a lot. I think it was good solution. After that, he was bit tired of that and I was better than him.”
Tsonga had previously reached the finals in the last two events he entered -- the Paris Masters and ATP Finals -- but lost both to Federer. He was able to advance past Federer in this tournament, however, because the Swiss star forfeited their semifinals match due to back spasms.
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