Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Pierre-Hauges Herbert make Montpellier an all-French affair
Pierre-Hagues Herbert ensured it would be an all-French final in Montpellier against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after he downed Tomas Berdych in the semis.
Herbert was in fine form, overcoming the former world number four 6-2 7-5, and he will now face wildcard Tsonga in the final.
Berdych was badly out of sorts in the opening set, but rallied in a tense second.
However, at 5-5 Berdych cracked under the pressure to hold, with Herbert, who won the Australian Open men’s doubles with Nicolas Mahut last month serving it out to book his final spot.
Tsonga, meanwhile, is trying to work his way back up the rankings after a wretched time with a knee injury.
The 33-year-old, a former world number five, is currently ranked outside the world’s top 200, but can win his 17 career title on Sunday.
He absolutely breezed through his semi-final, easily overpowering Moldovan Radu Albot 6-1 6-3 despite suffering an early break of serve in the second set.
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