Nadal to bounce back from humiliating defeat against Tsonga
Published:Rafael Nadal won’t suffer many more chastening nights in his Grand Slam title-littered career than Tuesday’s 3-6 0-6 humbling at the hands of rival Roger Federer, but by reacting well to that loss, he can show exactly why he is so revered.
The odds reflect that such an emphatic defeat often takes a while to recover from, especially for a player so unaccustomed to being outclassed, with Nadal 6/5 to beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a clash to determine who will join Federer in the semi-finals.
The Frenchman saw off the ten-time major winner in London earlier this year in the quarter-finals of the AEGON Championships and carries fine form into the match, so is rated 4/6 favourite to prolong his ATP World Tour Finals adventure.
However, the head-to-head record between the pair tells a different story, with Nadal boasting a 6-2 overall advantage and triumphing in each of their last four meetings on hard courts, prevailing in straight sets in the most recent two encounters.
The Spaniard has exited the season-closing tournament at the round-robin stage only once in four previous appearances and that was in 2009, his least successful campaign since debuting in the high-profile competition in 2006.
Such a routine victory is far less likely on this occasion though given both the stakes involved and the fact that Tsonga has lost 2-0 just twice in 21 best-of-three showdowns. It is 5/4 that this match goes to three sets, and 10/3 that Nadal wins 2-1.
Both men have already been taken to a tiebreak in one of their opening two fixtures – against Mardy Fish rather than Federer – so the 11/10 on there being another 7-6 set in this collision is well worth considering too.
