Tsonga is sent crashing out

UNHERALDED Slovakian Martin Klizan caused the shock of the tournament yesterday as he knocked out fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round of the US Open.

The Frenchman was horribly out of sorts and crashed out 6-4 1-6 6-1 6-3.

Tsonga looked like he had turned things around in the second set, but Klizan pulled away again in the third.

The Slovakian then opened up a 4-0 lead in the fourth set.

Klizan, ranked 52nd in the world, has had a good season, but had never beaten anyone close to the calibre of Tsonga before.

It was Tsonga’s earliest exit at a grand slam since the Australian Open in 2007, and he did not have much of an explanation for his poor performance.

Tsonga denied he was carrying any injuries, although fatigue is clearly taking its toll on a lot of players.

Klizan (23), who is likely to face 32nd seed Jeremy Chardy in the next round, said: “I’m very happy. I think it’s my best result in my career and I’m looking forward to playing Saturday in the third round. There is a chance to win again.”

American Mardy Fish, the 23rd seed, beat Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko 4-6 6-7 (4/7) 6-2 6-1 6-2, while 30th seed Feliciano Lopez narrowly avoided the same fate, beating fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6-4 6-1 6-7 (5/7) 3-6 7-5.

Eleventh seed Nicolas Almagro defeated German Philipp Petzschner 6-3 5-7 5-7 6-4 6-4, while 17th seed Kei Nishikori beat Tim Smyczek of the US 6-2 6-2 6-4.

Almagro, meanwhile, will meetAmerican teenager Jack Sock after he reached round three at a grand slam for the first time with a 6-2 6-2 6-4 victory over Flavio Cipolla of Italy.