• ATP World Tour Finals

Tsonga beats Berdych to book Federer final

Jo Wilfried-Tsonga sealed the win with an ace © PA Photos

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga blazed his way into a final against Roger Federer at the ATP World Tour Finals by beating Tomas Berdych in London. Sixth seed Tsonga needed one hour and 34 minutes to seal a 6-3 7-5 victory against his Czech opponent.

Tsonga now faces a familiar foe in Federer, who has won seven of their ten meetings - including the last three, and one in the group stages of this tournament. Federer overcame David Ferrer earlier in the day to leave him on course to retain the London title.

The only previous match between Tsonga and Berdych took place last month in Beijing, with the latter triumphing across three sets - but it was Tsonga who looked more comfortable early on at the O2 Arena.

During an opening set where both players struggled against the other's first serve, Tsonga took it upon himself to attack when the pace was off the ball, eventually forcing a break in the sixth game. Having landed that crucial blow, the Frenchman served out the set impressively.

The early stages of the following stanza followed a similar pattern: both struggling to return first serves with any menace, and Tsonga inflicting more damage against the second delivery. Berdych fended off a couple of early break points, then coughed up a costly double fault when 15-40 down at 3-3.

He desperately needed to force a break - and he managed it at the first opportunity, finally cracking the Tsonga second serve to level up at 4-4. But at 5-5 the pressure appeared to get to Berdych, who produced a dismal service game that handed Tsonga an invitation to a final with Federer - one that he accepted in style, closing out the victory with an ace.

"I have played well over the second half of the season and it's great to be here," Tsonga said. "I did a lot of sacrifices to be here, so I'm really happy."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.