By IANS,
Beijing: World No.2 Novak Djokovic set up a final with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the China Open Saturday, beating Florian Mayer in straight sets.
The Serbian top seed hit seven aces to overcome his German opponent 6-1, 6-4. Djokovic has won all three encounters with France’s Tsonga this season.
Third seed Tsonga progressed to the final when semifinal opponent Feliciano Lopez retired with a wrist injury with the Frenchman leading 6-1, 4-1.
World No.7 Tsonga has been put to the test this week, scraping past Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin after third set tie-breaker in the first round.
“During this week, my level goes better and better. I play one of my best tennis here,” said Tsonga.
“Even if today Feliciano was not in good shape, and even if he has a problem, I played well.”
The right-hander is bidding to win his third ATP World Tour title of the year.
Talking about his final opponent Djokovic, who has defeated him five times in a row since 2011’s Wimbledon semi-finals, Tsonga said, “Novak beat me many times. He is the player who broke my dream. This time I will try to do better.”
The prize fund of the China Open is $2.2 million.