Rafael Nadal Defeats Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Sony Ericsson Open

Rafael Nadal was able to overcome Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who after a slow start pushed Nadal to his limits in this intense three-set encounter. Nadal ultimately triumphed 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. 

Nadal and Tsonga are their countries' top-ranked player, hailing from Spain and France, respectively.

The first set was defined by Tsonga spraying backhands and Nadal being consistent enough to outlast his opponent in most rallies. 

Tsonga's first service game foreshadowed what would come for the remainder of the set. 

He opened the game hitting in his first three first serves and quickly raced out to a 40-love lead. From there, everything began to spiral out of control for the Frenchman. He began missing first serves and what seemed to be every third backhand. Nadal came back to break in that game and ultimately dominated the set, closing out the first set by holding at love

Patrick McEnroe, who helped call the match for ESPN, said that he felt Tsonga was getting his usual pace on the ball in the first set and a half 

Up until the middle of the second set it didn't appear as if Jo had the confidence that his game demands in order for him to be successful. 

Tsonga had a very difficult time getting any momentum early on. At one point, he would hit a massive serve to win a point, and on the next, he would miss an easy backhand. 

The second set began ominously for Tsonga, as well. He was able to hold his serve, despite committing an alarming seven unforced errors, in a marathon opening game.  

Tsonga was broken early on in the second set and it appeared as if Nadal was going to win this match without much difficulty. While serving for the match at 5-4, Nadal appeared to slightly tighten up while Tsonga came alive and got the break to level the set. 

After Jo broke serve, he seized control of the set, winning the following three games to tie the match. This portion of the match was characterized by big hitting from Jo, both from the baseline and the service line.

Tsonga's improved form continued into the third set and, at times in the set, he appeared to be in control.

During the first two changeovers of the set, Nadal had his knee area attended to by the trainer. The discomfort didn't seem to affect the way he played, however. What seemed to be troubling Nadal more than his knee was Tsonga's great play.

Nadal found most of his success by applying pressure to the Tsonga's backhand. He did this by employing his top spin laden forehand, which consistently jumped up above Jo's shoulder, soliciting over a dozen errors from his backhand by the mid-way point in the second set.

Tsonga, on the other hand, relied upon his serve and his aggression once the ball was in play. He found success flattening out his forehand and coming forward whenever possible. When in trouble, Tsonga was able to count on a big serve or clutch volley to get him out of tough spots.

The final turning point came when the match was tied at four games and Tsonga double faulted at 30 all. Tsonga went for a bigger than normal second serve while trying to follow it into net. Nadal was able to capitalize on the break point that ensued. 

During the changeover, an incensed Tsonga got into a verbal altercation with the chair umpire. He accused the chair of giving Nadal a call just because he was Nadal. 

Luckily for Jo, the chair did not penalize him for what was a very serious accusation. 

Finally, after a ten minute final game and after failing to convert on two match points, Nadal won on a Tsonga forehand error that clipped the tape and didn't find its way over the net.

Tsonga missed a bunch of drop shots throughout the match. To make matters worse, he missed a few drop shots on crucial break points. He continued to try and miss drop shots throughout the entire match, even during rallies in which he held an advantage.

This wasn't Nadal's best performance of the tournament, but he was seriously tested by Tsonga. 

This match was a very similar to Tsonga's victory over Federer at last year's Wimbledon. Like in that match, the Frenchman took his game to another level and began posing a plethora of problems for his higher ranked opponent. Unlike Federer in that match, though, Nadal was able to overcome him —— albeit in a very close battle.

His victory moves him into the semi-finals, where a familiar adversary awaits him; that man being Andy Murray, who was defeated by Nadal in three Grand Slam semi-finals last year.

Nadal will have to play better against Murray than he did tonight if he hopes to play in the final on Sunday, where his biggest rival may be waiting.