Tsonga Played It Safe, and Paid a Price When Jo-Wilfried Tsonga watches a replay of his gripping match with Novak Djokovic he will wince at his lack of aggressive play on his four match points in the fourth set. In much the same way he thwarted Roger Federer in the 2010 United States Open semifinals, when he faced double match point at 4-5, 15-40 in the fifth set, Djokovic attacked. Like Federer, who twice chipped backhand returns on second serves, Tsonga elected to play it safe rather than hit out. He had his reasons, as Djokovic had missed two makable balls to go down, love-30, but the beauty of Tsonga's approach to tennis is his unpredictability, his genius for coming up with a brilliant, often improvised shot that hits his opponent like a body blow. He is at his best when he is dangerous, when he injects a dose of mayhem into a tense match. Last April Tsonga parted ways with French Federation Coach Eric Winogradsky, citing a need to play more freely and spontaneously rather than adopt the more percentage-oriented approach that Winogradsky favored. Tsonga decided to go it alone; he wanted to trust his own instincts and win or lose on his own terms. In his march to the semifinals at Wimbledon last year Tsonga played superbly, but also looked relaxed, even joyful, in his matches. He blew open his match against Roger Federer in the quarterfinals by playing with a gambler's abandon. Federer could not come up with a counter-strategy, and looked shellshocked as he lost a two-sets-to-love lead. Tsonga made Federer look drab and uninspired as he painted the lines with huge serves and daring forehand returns. Two days later, against Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, Tsonga climbed out of a love-40 deficit while serving at 4-5 in the first set. He hit an ace and two unreturnable serves to even the game at deuce, saving three straight set points in the process. At deuce, Tsonga missed a big first serve up the middle by inches. Djokovic moved forward to take the second serve early and try to go on the offensive. Rather than kick in a heavy spin serve, Tsonga reared back and blasted another bomb at the T. He missed it long by an inch, but he laughed at his own audacity. It was a big risk; he took it and failed, but Tsonga looked like a man out of jail. On Tuesday he opened the match poorly, spotting Djokovic a set before he settled into a better rhythm in the second. In the first set Tsonga managed to win a scant nine points; but in the second set his serve heated up and his ground game began to move Djokovic off the baseline. He outdueled Djokovic in both the second and third sets to move to within one set of victory. Tsonga saved break points at 3-3, hitting two big service winners to thwart Djokovic. Serving at 4-5 in the fourth, Djokovic fell behind, 15-40, and appeared to be succumbing to the pressure. He missed his first serve. The crowd hushed with anticipation as Tsonga moved forward. I thought he might attack the serve with a backhand and rush the net. Or, I thought Tsonga might step back and hit a runaround forehand to seize control of the point. But instead he played a neutral backhand safely to Djokovic's backhand. The Serb pounced, ripping a backhand cross court that sent Tsonga sprinting to his left to defend. Djokovic played each of the match points he faced with aggression and resolve. By contrast, Tsonga never was able to go on the offensive and make Djokovic come up with a great shot to stay in the match. The closest Tsonga came to having a single shot to win the match was on a backhand passing shot that Tsonga played down the line. Djokovic closed beautifully, anticipated Tsonga's choice, and angled away a crisp forehand volley for a winner. For his part, Djokovic once again found a way to win a tough five-setter against an inspired opponent. Djokovic is not playing with the grace and ease of a year ago, but he is competing extraordinarily well. Where his groundstrokes last year were astonishing to watch, as Djokovic hit with power, deception and accuracy, this clay court season he has struggled to stay balanced and generate pace. He looks to be fighting the ball, and his movement - especially to the forehand side - appears more labored than a year ago, when Djokovic glided toward the ball, looking as though he had an extra second of time than his opponents. But the key to survival in Grand Slam tennis is to play through the bad patches and fight to advance. Djokovic is developing quite a reputation for comebacks in Grand Slam events. He came back from two sets down to beat the rapidly improving Andreas Seppi, and on Tuesday he narrowly escaped Tsonga. He will face Roger Federer, who also staged a gritty comeback against Juan Martin del Potro on Tuesday, overcoming a two-set deficit by wearing down the tall Argentine in five sets. Both Federer and Djokovic have appeared vulnerable in the last two matches, and it will be fascinating to see who will prevail in their showdown in the semifinals.