Serbia's Novak Djokovic hits a return to France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga during his semi-final match at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament in Montreal, August 13, 2011.
MONTREAL - World number one Novak Djokovic advanced to the final of the Montreal Masters when Frenchman Jo Wilfried Tsonga retired trailing 6-4 3-0 on Saturday, leaving the sensational Serb on the brink of a record-smashing title.
Tsonga's retirement with an injured forearm provided a shock ending to their mouth-watering Wimbledon semi-final rematch but the Frenchman's surrender in the face of the Djokovic juggernaut seemed almost predictable.
Djokovic will now take on in-form American Mardy Fish in Sunday's final and have the chance to become the first to capture five Masters series titles in a single season.
Tsonga said the injury had dogged him for three days and the pain had worsened in that time.
"It was difficult for me to hit the ball well and hard. That's why I took this decision.
"I don't have the pretension to beat Novak without my arm."
Tsonga came into the contest holding a 5-3 edge in head-to-head meetings and had been in superb form in Montreal, counting two-time champion Roger Federer among his scalps.
But few tennis players have enjoyed a more spectacular campaign than Djokovic, who extended his match record to a dazzling 52-1, a magical run that has so far produced eight titles, including Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
"He plays incredible tennis but he's not an alien," said Tsonga. "In fact, what he does is doing everything better than the others ... He doesn't hit harder, he doesn't hit the ball earlier. But he's always there.
"He does not have the best return on the tour.
"But on every return, he returns well, and he's always there. So what does it is his consistency, and he has no weaknesses."
(Agencies)
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