Jo-Wilfried Tsonga takes first claycourt title in Lyon

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga polished his preparation for the French Open in style by claiming his maiden claycourt title, beating Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6(2) 7-5 in the Lyon Open final on Saturday.

The second-seeded Frenchman, who was playing his first final on the red dirt, held serve throughout and broke decisively in the last game to clinch his 15th ATP title.

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Tsonga's victory on the eve of the claycourt major raised hopes that he may finally end the country's 34-year search for a homegrown male champion at Roland Garros. Yannick Noah was the last Frenchman to lift the Musketeers' Cup in 1983.

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Tsonga had gotten off to a poor start in the claycourt season, withdrawing from his second-round match at the Madrid Masters before skipping the Rome Masters with a shoulder injury.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Image credit: Getty Images

He seems to have recovered well as he produced a solid performance against third seed Berdych, who never found the key to the Frenchman's service.

The Czech had to set points at 5-4 40-15 on Tsonga's serve, but like he did all week, Tsonga played the big points perfectly.

"It was a very close match. I had a very big chance at the end of the first set when I had two set points, and I think that was the key of the match," said Berdych.

"To win the set, it would put me in a completely different position, but Jo was able to save that, hold that, and I didn't really create many chances after that."

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