WATCH : Joao Sousa hits six consecutive volleys to win a point against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Playing volleys has made a dramatic comeback to top-level tennis in recent times and more and more players are using it as a potent weapon. Yesterday, Portuguese star Joao Sousa showcased his expertise in volleying by hitting six back to back ones to win a point against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Yesterday, against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Sousa came up with a passage of play at the net to win a point in the first set. In the fourth game of the first set, Sousa was faced with a break-point and came up with a good serve towards Tsonga's back hand. The latter returned the ball with a slice and Sousa was at hand to hit a forehand drive volley. Tsonga had not given up on the point and did really well to retrieve the ball trying a cross-court passing shot. However, the Frenchman wasn't able to find an angle and hit it straight down the middle where Sousa sliced the ball back to Tsonga's backhand. The 32-year-old scampered across the baseline and tried to hit a backhand down the line but found Sousa right there again.
The Portuguese, however, failed to get any sort of direction or power on his third volley of the game. But he did manage to get some depth on the ball which meant that Tsonga did not have an easy shot to hit despite the ball being close to his racquet. Tsonga's next return was met by yet another volley by Sousa to which the Frenchman responded with an attempted cross-court passing shot. Sousa managed to come up with a slice-cum-drop shot which appeared to be the winner, but Tsonga was quick on his feet and tried to lob the Portuguese. On the sixth time of asking, Sousa finally got it right with a fierce overhead smash to Tsonga's backhand to finally secure the point.
However, all didn’t go according to plan for Sousa as his hopes were ended by the Frenchman who won the match 7-6 (7-1), 3-6, 6-2.