Over The Moon

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga brutalized Mikhail Youzhny 7-6, 6-0, 7-6(6) to advance to his first Slam semifinal.

What happened? Well, it was quite easy to describe, actually. Jo-Wilfried beat the living daylights out of Mikhail with all-court power tennis and the kind of composure that could make him a champion. It was almost frightening.

If my memory is correct, he becomes the first Black man to contest a Slam semifinal since MaliVai Washington at Wimbledon in 1996. Can James Blake make it two? And does anyone know the last time two Black men made the final 8 of a Slam?

Tsonga is definitely the first Frenchman into the semifinals Down Under since Arnaud Clement and Sebastien Grosjean duked it out in 2001. Clement outlasted Grosjean and lost to Andre Agassi in the finals.

In the semis, the Frenchman will face Rafael Nadal, who ended Jarkko Nieminen's run in straight sets earlier in the day. Will Jo-Wilfried be this year's surprise finalist?

Stay tuned.