Roger Federer Loses to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2014 Rogers Cup Final

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France denied Switzerland’s Roger Federer’s attempt for a third Rogers Cup title early Monday morning winning the championship round in straight sets, 7-5, 7-6 (3). The Frenchman won the ATP title in Toronto, Canada for the first time in his career while avoiding a third straight loss to the Swiss Master.

Tsonga was impressive against the former world number one but he was also as remarkable in the earlier rounds leading up to the final. The 29-year-old also beat Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the Round of 16, Andy Murray of Great Britain in the quarterfinals and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the semifinals.

Tsonga has only won one in six sets in the last two matches—both losses—against Federer. Using efficient first serve and holding on to his serve the entire match, Tsonga pulled off the tough two-set victory and the fourth upset win in as many games. The Frenchman had more double faults (11-7) but did enough to weather Federer’s consistent attacks.

Federer won in the ATP tournament in Toronto in 2004 and 2006 while Tsonga won his first after two semifinal appearances in the last six years. Tsonga has now won 11 ATP titles, his first in 2014 and second ATP 1000 event overall after his victory in the 2008 ATP Masters Series Paris.

"It's completely different than before when I won in Paris. In Paris it was the first one, behind my family, all my friends, everybody. Here I just did it with my level, with my game. I played well all week. I beat many good guys. It's a big achievement because I worked really hard to come back from my knee injury last year," shared Tsonga via the ATP’s official Web site.

Tsonga and Federer will play next in the 2014 Cincinnati Open scheduled from August 9 to 17. The tournament will serve as the final warm-up tournament for the final Grand Slam of the year, the 2014 US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York from August 25 to September 8.