Jo-Wilfried Tsonga plays Gael Monfils in an all-French final in Doha on Saturday afternoon.
It's been a brilliant start to the new year for both men who have overcome unauspicious starts to the week to reach the final. Monfils in particular has excelled in the past couple of rounds, crushing Viktor Troicki in the quarters and then responding to see off Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-4 in Friday's semis.
The Nadal match was one of the best performances of Monfils' career and if the Frenchman can harness that irresistible combination of speed, agility and power more often in 2012, he could challenge for the top ten.
Tsonga leads 2-1 on the head-to-head in their meetings on the tour with Monfils winning the last one 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-4 in Montpellier around 15 months ago.
"It's always really tough to play against Jo because he has a powerful game, and kind of game [where] it's tough to manipulate him from the baseline," Monfils said.
"I need just to focus on my game and focus on my mind. It's always tougher to be like this in the final against a friend. You want to show him you're the best, and sometimes, you're going too fast, and sometimes you're a bit shaky. You have to find a balance."
Prediction: Monfils in two.
