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Posted at 5:23 a.m., Saturday, September 27, 2008

Tennis: Djokovic, Tsonga to meet in Thailand Open final

Associated Press

BANGKOK, Thailand — Top-seeded Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga set up a rematch of their Australian Open final by winning semifinals Saturday at the Thailand Open.

Djokovic beat Thomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-1, while the second-seeded Tsonga ousted fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-0, 6-3.

The third-ranked Djokovic won the first set when his shot tapped the net and fell into his opponent's side. Berdych then double-faulted to lose his first service game of the second set, while a backhand error saw him go down 5-1. Djokovic closed the game out with a volley on his second match point.

"I felt as if I woke up from the dream in the second set. I felt sleepy in the first set," the Serbian said. "But in the second set I broke him twice. He had bad service games and I took the opportunities."

Tsonga benefited from a string of unforced errors by Monfils to race to a 4-0 lead. He faced a break point in the next game, but his powerful serve bailed him out and he went up 5-0. Tsonga set up a set point with a forehand down the line and took the set after Monfils's forehand landed in the net.

Monfils hit an ace to level the second set at 1-1, but the more aggressive Tsonga broke again for a 4-2 lead with a passing shot. He sealed the victory with a service winner to wrap up the match in just 52 minutes.

"I hit the ball very well, but didn't move well today," Tsonga said. "I just hope to move better tomorrow."