Tsonga and Tipsarevic Lock Up Last Two Spots at Barclays ATP World Tour Finals
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Janko Tipsarevic will complete the singles field at the 2012 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from Nov. 5-12. The Frenchman and the Serb’s places at the season-ending showdown were confirmed following results at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris on Thursday, where they both advanced to the quarterfinals.
Tsonga and Tipsarevic join Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin del Potro in the singles lineup, as the world’s best players battle for the last title of the season at The O2.
Tsonga has captured two ATP World Tour titles in 2012, at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha and at the Moselle Open in Metz. Currently ranked seventh in the world, Tsonga will be making his third career appearance at the season finale.
“It’s really important for me to have qualified. With the big four at the moment, it’s not easy to get rewards in tennis, so for me this is one of my rewards. It feels good to be a part of it,” said Tsonga. “I have some great memories from last year where I played the final against Roger. It was huge for me, one of the big moments of my career.”
Tipsarevic returns to The O2 for a second consecutive year, having appeared as an alternate in 2011 following Murray’s withdrawal due to injury. The Serb picked up his third career ATP World Tour title this year at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.
“The [Barclays ATP] World Tour Finals last year was one of my best experiences ever on the tennis court,” said Tipsarevic. “I was always dreaming of playing the world tour finals and I’m excited to be back there.”
In doubles, the team of Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi & Jean-Julien Rojer also booked their spot at the season finale by advancing to the quarterfinals in Paris on Thursday. The winner of Friday’s quarterfinal in Paris between Mahesh Bhupathi & Rohan Bopanna and Mariusz Fyrstenberg & Marcin Matkowski will clinch the last remaining doubles berth.
