Paris Masters: Rafael Nadal fends off Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach last-four

Spanish tennis maestro Rafael Nadal booked his place in the semi-final of the ongoing Rolex Paris Masters after edging past home favorite and 2008 champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets in the last-eight clash at Bercy Arena on Saturday.

The 19-time Grand Slam champion did not face a break point while winning 93 per cent of his first-serve points during his 7-6(4), 6-1 over Tsonga in a thrilling last-eight clash of the men's singles event that lasted one hour and 35 minutes. 

In the opening set, Tsonga used his first serve to push the Spaniard hard, losing just one first serve-point in the way. However, Nadal displayed his best tennis in the tie-breaker to settle his opponent's level and he never looked back from there. 

With the win, 33-year-old Nadal has now improved his ATP Head-to-Head rivalry against Tsonga to 10-4, the Association for Tennis Professionals (ATP) reported.

Nadal, who is bidding for a record-extending 36th ATP Masters 1000 title this week, could grab the year-end No.1 spot in the ATP rankings if he beats Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov in the semi-final clash later in the day and Novak Djokovic loses against Grigor Dimitrov in the other last-four clash.