Shortly after Denis Shapovalov liquidated Gael Monfils, then penultimate French survivor, in an authentic exhibition (6-2 and 6-2), Rafael Nadal had to measure himself with the last local hope. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 34, former number five in the world, is another of the veterans who still hold the enthusiasm of the bleus, even more so in a tournament he won in 2008 and at the end of which he appeared again three editions later. The Spaniard won 7-6 (4) and 6-1 and will look for his second Paris-Bercy final on Saturday.

While the service worked, Tsonga, champion this course in Metz and Montpellier, especially motivated, because, when he plays at home, he was inside the game, willing to defend a fate that was elusive in the last crossing between them last summer in Wimbledon, where he fell in three conclusive sets.

Nadal had to go to the tiebreaker, in a first set without a single break ball on both sides of the court. Forced to play the limit, Tsonga rushed into a climb to the net for which he ended up paying a high toll. The lefty had resisted his push, without losing his poise, knowing that he would have his chance. Not even the best current version of the Le Mans player, today 35th in the rankings, reached him to take advantage before an opponent accustomed to making the decisions demanded by each situation.

Tsonga, touched after giving up the tiebreaker

The finalist of the Australian Open in 2008 accused the impact, which took a short time to grant his service in a very different second set. Nadal placed 3-0 and finished off the victory with authority, very firm with the serve, without offering a single option of breakage. He broke again in the sixth game and rounded up a notable match against an unanswered opponent after the disappointment of the first set.

On his return to the tracks after the United States Open, with greater freshness than usual in these instances of the season after giving up the Asian tour, Nadal, which on Monday will again be world number 1 regardless of what happens in the outcome of this tournament, he has been firm against three veteran opponents, such as Mannarino, Wawrinka and Tsonga himself.

On Saturday (not before 4:30 p.m., Vamos) he will face Shapovalov, 20, who is credited with defeating him in 2017 in the eighths of the 1000 Masters of Canada. Before (2 pm) Novak Djokovic and Grigor Dimitrov will play. The Serbian offered one of his best performances in recent months to win over Stefanos Tsitsipas, who had recently defeated him in Shanghai, 6-1 and 6-2, while the Bulgarian beat Cristian Garín 6-2 and 7- 5. P

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