Tsonga triumphs in Marseille

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga claimed his second ATP title of the year by beating fellow Frenchman Michael Llodra 7-5 7-6 in the the Marseille Open final.

Fourth-seeded Tsonga, who won the South African Open two weeks ago, kept his cool under pressure from Llodra at the net to seal victory in one hour 43 minutes.

"He puts you under a lot of pressure," Tsonga said afterwards. "It's quite hard to stay focused and hit passing shots."

Tsonga, who now has four ATP titles under his belt, broke decisively in the 11th game to snatch the opening set with a stunning forehand passing shot.

The unseeded Llodra called on the ATP trainer to have his left shoulder massaged but he managed to go on.

The second set went with serve into the tie-break when Llodra crumbled, double-faulting to give his opponent a 4-3 lead.

Tsonga took the next two points before ending the match with his 11th ace.

"He was stronger, today," said Llodra.

"It was down to a few points, I did not serve well enough."

Reuters