JO-Wilfried Tsonga marched into the Australian Open quarter-finals with a comfortable straight sets win over James Blake at Rod Laver Arena on Monday night.
No.5 seed Tsonga, the losing finalist last year, defeated No.9 seed Blake, from the United States, 6-4 6-4 7-6 (7-3) in two hours and 24 minutes.
The Frenchman, known for his likeness to boxing legend Muhammad Ali, grabbed service breaks in the opening two games of the first two sets then saved two set points in the third to reclaim a service break and take the stanza to a tie-break.
Once there, Blake crumbled under a weight of unforced errors as Tsonga grabbed victory on his second match point.
"I think I'm playing better than last year," Tsonga said.
"I'm stronger maybe in my head, and it helps a lot."
Blake, 29, was furious with the defeat, which leaves him scratching around for a significant grand slam performance at the tail-end of his career.
"It's a little frustrating," Blake said.
"I didn't feel like I served well or returned well, otherwise it was OK. But those are pretty important bits of the game.''
An early break was enough for the first set and Tsonga applied the same strategy in the second, following up three deep backhands with a cute volley on set point for a 2-0 lead.
Blake earned his first break points of the match, after an intermission for Australia Day fireworks, and converted with a penetrating winner that left Tsonga flat-footed.
But he was then foiled twice when serving for the set, and Tsonga broke for 4-5 with a brilliantly anticipated volley and then a perfect forehand.
Blake, looking increasingly unhappy, was soon behind in an error-strewn tie-break, and Tsonga pummelled some big forehands for match point before sealing the verdict with an ace.
"This year it's a bit different because I have more experience now and I'm playing better," he said.
"I hope I'll get a better result."
Tsonga said that he had been distracted by the fireworks display.
"I was a bit stressed so it was difficult to serve just after the fireworks," he said.
"But I did the job in the end so I'm happy about that."
Tsonga next plays Fernando Verdasco, who produced the upset of the men's singles draw by knocking No.4 seed Andy Murray out of the tournament.
"That's a big surprise," Tsonga said.
"Andy was the best player at the end of last season and he's world No.4.
"But it's going to be tough against Fernando.
"He's a very good player, he's very confident in his game and it's going to be hard."
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