Bodog Beat

Rafael Nadal lost to an unseeded opponent at the Australian Open. (AI Wire photo)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has drawn comparisons in looks to a young Muhammad Ali. (See? And, See?) Appropriately then, he landed a knockout blow against Rafael Nadal to advance to the 2008 Australian Open men's final. The Frenchman beat the Spaniard 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 to get to his first Grand Slam final.

Tsonga will play the winner of Friday's semifinal between top-ranked Roger Federer (-350) and No. 3 Novak Djokovic (+250).

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"For most of the match, I truly felt like I couldn't miss," said Tsonga. "The thing that's the most incredible is to play a match of this quality at this kind of moment. I didn't expect it. I thought it would be a really tough match against a player who gets everything back and who grinds you down with his style of play. It's hard to beat him, because it's hard to get it past him. But I felt today I had the potential to do it on almost every shot."

As for Nadal, he was gracious in defeat. "I was playing fine," he said. "He played unbelievable. Congratulate him."