A dejected Rafael Nadal after his loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Thursday

Melbourne: He may not yet fly like the legendary Muhammad Ali but Jo-Wilfried Tsonga sure stings.

Ask Rafael Nadal. Armed with a forehand that carries the sting of his lookalike’s famous fists, the unseeded French powerhouse blasted the world No. 2 Spaniard off court 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 with a dazzling array of shots to secure the biggest victory of his career.

Not only does he look remarkably similar to the legendary boxer, Tsonga’s flair, both on and off-court, frequently reminds one of Ali’s while demolishing his opponents.

On Thursday, the unseeded Frenchman described his astonishing straight-set rout of Nadal in the Australian Open semi-finals as “ridiculous”.

“It was ridiculous,” Tsonga said. “For me it’s a big dream. It’s just amazing. I played unbelievable tonight.”

The 22-year-old, playing only his fifth Grand Slam tournament, has been plagued by a succession of back and shoulder injuries during his career and has never won a Tour title.

Tsonga will meet either Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final.

He knocked out seeds Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet and Mikhail Youzhny on the way to the last four.

“Rafael plays the same tennis all the time,” Tsonga said. “His level is very high and it’s very difficult to play against him. I was moving on the court like I never move, so everything was perfect.”

On being compared in looks to the boxing legend, Tsonga had said: “I’m not flying on the court like him, but I try to fly.”Nadal was not quite lost for words following his thrashing — but he was at a loss for ideas.

“We have to accept today that he played unbelievable tennis. Playing the ball very hard every time, serving unbelievably,” the Spaniard shrugged.

“In the backhand he didn’t miss one. Every time he did the forehand it was a winner, so I congratulate him. That’s it.”

Nadal had thought he was playing well enough to win the tournament.

“I was playing very fine, very well, but it wasn’t for me to beat Tsonga tonight,” Nadal said shaking his head.

“Running unbelievably, physically very explosive, everything. What can I say? No weak points about his game tonight. I have to find something. I gonna think all night.” (AGENCIES)

Tsonga factbox

Name: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Fra)

Date of birth: April 17, 1985

Residence: Le Mans, France

Height: 6’2’’ (187 cm)

Weight: 90kg

Plays: Right-handed

Turned Pro: 2004

Coach: Eric Winogradsky

Current singles ranking: 38

Current doubles ranking: 89

CAREER REVIEW

Singles record: 19-15

Singles titles: 0

Doubles record: 11- 6

Doubles titles: 2

Prize money: $484,813

Tsonga, born of a French mother and Congolese father, had a successful junior career, winning the US Open Juniors title in 2003 by beating Marcos Baghdatis in the final. He also reached the semi-final of the other three junior Grand Slam events.

The Frenchman, nicknamed Ali, has wins over former No.1 players Carlos Moyà and Lleyton Hewitt. En route to reaching the final of the 2008 Australian Open — his best result so far — Tsonga defeated 14th seed Mikhail Youzhny, ninth seed Andy Murray, No.8 seed Richard Gasquet and No.2 seed Rafael Nadal.

By reaching the Australian Open final, Tsonga became the first player to reach his first tour final in a Grand Slam tournament since Gustavo Kuerten (1997 French Open). He will also be the third Frenchman to play in the Australian Open final after Jean Borotra in 1928 and Arnaud Clement in 2001.