Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - French Tennis Star

Tsonga recently rose to fame by virtue of his performance in the 2008 Australian Open when, as an unseeded player, he reached the final, having defeated four seeded players along the way, including earning a straight sets win over world number 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga eventually lost to world number 3 Novak Djokovic in the final in 4 sets, after winning the first set, the only set Djokovic dropped during the 2008 Australian Open.

Background

As a child, he and fellow tennis player Gaël Monfils would practice together and spend hours trying to develop a serve like Andy Roddick's.

Both of his parents now work as teachers in France. Tsonga also has an older sister, Sasha, and a younger brother, Enzo, who is a part of the French junior basketball program. Players on the ATP circuit have nicknamed Tsonga "the Muhammad Ali of Tennis" due to his striking resemblance to Muhammad Ali, who is one of his heroes Tsonga is coached by compatriot Éric Winogradsky.

2008 Australian Open

At the 2008 Australian Open, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated #14 seed Mikhail Youzhny, #9 seed Andy Murray, #8 seed Richard Gasquet, and #2 seed Rafael Nadal to reach the final. In doing so, Tsonga became the first player to reach his first-ever ATP-level final at a Grand Slam event since Gustavo Kuerten (1997 French Open). He then lost the final to #3 seed Novak Djokovic in four sets, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(2).

Tennis career

Early career

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had a successful junior career, winning the U.S. Open Juniors title in 2003 by defeating Marcos Baghdatis in the final, and also reached the semi-final stage of the other three Grand Slam events.

After turning pro in 2004, Tsonga suffered a string of injuries beginning in late 2004 with a herniated disc that caused him to be out of action until March 2005. Then came two right shoulder injuries later in 2005, back and abdominal ailments from October 2005 to February 2006, and the reinjuring of an abdominal injury at the end of 2006. In all, he only played 8 tournaments over that span of years.

2007

In January 2007, he received a wild card into the 2007 Australian Open, where in only his second senior Grand Slam match he met up with sixth seed Andy Roddick. Tsonga's singles rank at the time was #212 and – in the longest tiebreaker in Australian Open history – he defeated Roddick in the first set (20-18). Jo-Wilfried Tsonga forced a tiebreaker in the second, losing it and taking only two points, and went on to lose the match 6–7 (18), 7–6 (2), 6–3, 6–3. At the time, he was 21 years old.

In 2007, he won four Challenger titles in Tallahassee, Mexico City, Lanzarote, and Surbiton. Tsonga qualified for the 2007 Queen's Club Championships while at the same time playing in the Surbiton Challenger, which he won. Between the two events, he scored victories in five matches during the course of two days. In the second round of the Queen's main draw he met the sixth seed and defending champion, former world number one Lleyton Hewitt, ranked #16 in the ATP rankings. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won the match after two tiebreakers, 7–6 (5), 7–6 (2), to seal his most prominent victory since his triumph over Carlos Moya, then ranked #6 in the world, at Beijing in 2004. However, suffering from fatigue, Tsonga went on to lose to promising Croatian youngster Marin Cilic in the following round.

At Wimbledon 2007, where he was again awarded a wild card, he reached the fourth round (his first time past round one of a Slam), defeating Julien Benneteau, Nicolas Lapentti, and Feliciano Lopez. His run was halted by his countryman and friend, 12th seed (14th-ranked) Richard Gasquet, in straight sets 6–4, 6–3, 6–4. He did not beat a seed in coming to the fourth round (Andy Murray, the potential seed he would have faced, had dropped out). The win brought his ranking up from #110 to #74, his first time inside the top 75.

Then at the 2007 U.S. Open, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Óscar Hernández 7–5, 6–1, 6–3 in the first round before beating Tim Henman 7–6(2), 2–6, 7–5, 6–4, which resulted in Henman's last Grand Slam match. He then lost to an injured number two Rafael Nadal 7–6(3), 6–2, 6–1.

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By the end of the year, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga saw his ranking skyrocket over 150 ranking spots into the top 50. Tsonga began 2007 ranked 212 in the world, and in early July climbed into the top 100 at 74. In October, Tsonga climbed into the top 50 for the first time in his career, finishing the year ranked number 43 in the world. Tsonga's year-end 169 ranking spots climb was the highest of any player ranked inside the top 75.

2008

Starting his 2008 season, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga played and won a singles match at the 2008 Next Generation Adelaide International. He defeated Victor Hanescu 6–3, 4–6, 7–5. He scored straight sets victories over his next two opponents, defeating Ernests Gulbis 6–3, 6–2, and Lleyton Hewitt (the top seed) 6–4, 6–2. However, he fell in the semi-finals to Jarkko Nieminen, the third seed, 6–2, 6–4. In doubles, Tsonga and Sébastien Grosjean lost to Florian Mayer and Chris Haggard, 2–6, 7–6 (6), [10-6], in the first round.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga played doubles in the Sydney Medibank International with friend Richard Gasquet. The French compatriots teamed to become a formidable combination, scoring a major upset in the finals over world number one duo Bob and Mike Bryan (4–6, 6–4, 11-9). The French pair came back from two match points down to win the championship and denied the Bryan brothers from winning the tournament.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga began his 2008 Australian Open campaign with a tough first round match against 9th seed Andy Murray. Tsonga defeated the Scot 7–5, 6–4, 0–6, 7–6(5), setting up a clash with American qualifier Sam Warburg in the second round. After easily defeating Warburg in straight sets, Tsonga advanced to the third round, where he was victorious over Spaniard Guillermo García López 6–3, 6–4, 6–2. In the fourth round, Tsonga defeated compatriot Richard Gasquet 6–2, 6–7(5), 7–6(6), 6–3.

In the quarterfinals, Tsonga played Russia's Mikhail Youzhny, who came into the quarterfinal showdown riding a nine match winning streak. Tsonga dismantled the favored Youzhny in straight sets, 7–5, 6–0, 7–6. In the semifinals, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga delivered a strong performance to defeat the number two seed Rafael Nadal, 6–2, 6–3, 6–2 to complete back-to-back straight set victories over heavily favored opponents. Tsonga's semi-final performance was characterized by his powerful and precise serves, finesse volleys, and aggressive baseline play. Tsonga did not face a break point until the third set while breaking the Spaniard five times in the match. The victory earned him a spot in his first career Grand Slam final and also made him the first player since Gustavo Kuerten at the 1997 French Open to make his ATP finals debut at a Grand Slam.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open in a very competitive match, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(7–2). Following the tournament, Tsonga saw his ranking climb to a career high number 18 in the world. Tsonga would then compete at the Indian Wells Masters. He reached the 4th round, but lost to defending champion Rafael Nadal in 3 tight sets 6–7, 7–6 7–5. Following the tournament, Tsonga saw his ATP ranking climb again to a new career high number 12 in the world.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has pulled out of the French Open because of a knee problem that has lasted for several months. This knee injury made him pull out of the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup, France vs. United States. He will undergo knee surgery that will put him out for a few more months.

He underwent successful knee surgery and participated in the 2008 US Open. He defeated Santiago Ventura in the first round 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2, 6-3, and 2006 quarterfinalist and former World No. 1 Carlos Moya in the second round 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4. He was ousted by former World No. 5 Tommy Robredo in the third round, losing in straight sets 7–6(2), 6–2, 6–3.

At the Paris Masters, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga overcame Djokovic once again defeating him with a score of 6–4, 1–6, 6–3 to earn him a place in the quarterfinals. He then defeated Andy Roddick 5–7, 6–4, 7–6(5) to reach the semi-finals where he defeated James Blake 6–4, 6–3. In the final, Tsonga defeated David Nalbandian in a competitive three-set end 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, to capture his first career ATP Masters Series championship. His win allowed him to secure a spot in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup.

In the round robin portion of the Masters Cup, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lost in succession to Nikolay Davydenko 7–6(6), 4–6, 6–7(0) and Juan Martin del Potro 6–7(4), 6–7(5), preventing him from advancing to the semifinals, but defeated eventual champion Novak Djokovic 1–6, 7–5, 6–1.

2009

Tsonga started his 2009 season in Australia at the Brisbane International tournament. Entering the tournament as the 2nd seed, he defeated Agustín Calleri 6–2, 7–5 in the first round. He then came back from a set down to win his 2nd round match against Jarkko Nieminen 0–6, 7–6(1), 7–6(5). He would then lose however, to compatriot Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals, losing 6–1, 4–6, 2–6. Even though he did not win the singles title, he teamed up with fellow Frenchman Marc Gicquel to win the doubles title by defeating Fernando Verdasco and Mischa Zverev in the final 6–4, 6–3.

He then entered the Australian Open, defeating Juan Monaco in the first round 6–4, 6–4, 6–0. He then defeated Ivan Ljubicic in the second round 6–7(4), 7–6(8), 7–6(7), 6–2, Dudi Sela in the third 6–4, 6–2, 1–6, 6–1 and #9 seed James Blake in the fourth 6–4, 6–4, 7–6(3). He played Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the quarterfinals, losing in 4 sets, 6–7(2), 6–3, 3–6, 2–6. Unable to defend the points in his finals appearance from last year, his rank went down to #14.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was then called up alongside Gilles Simon to play the singles matches for France against Czech Republic in their Davis Cup first-round clash, while Michael Llodra and Richard Gasquet would pair up to play the doubles. After Simon lost the first match against Tomáš Berdych, Tsonga defeated Radek Stepanek 7–5, 6–2, 7–6(1) to level the tie. It would prove insufficient, though, as Llodra and Gasquet lost the doubles to Tomas Berdych and Štěpánek, and Štěpánek then proceeded to beat Simon to give Czech Republic an insurmountable 3–1 lead. Tsonga gave France a consolation point by beating Jan Hernych 6–2, 6–7(5), 7–6(0). Although Czech Republic won the tie 3–2, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won both of his matches and kept his winning form alive before the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the year.

Tsonga then entered the Madrid Masters, the last 1000 ATP World Tour event before Roland-Garros. He defeated Russian Marat Safin 6–4, 7–5 in the first round to record his first clay court match win of the 2009 season and received afterwards his trophy as the 2008 ATP Most Improved Player of the Year. But, Tsonga's poor clay court form continued as he lost to Croat Ivan Ljubičić 4–6, 5–7 in the 2nd round.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga then entered the French Open, Roland Garros, the year's second grand slam event. Tsonga recorded his first ever match win at Roland Garros after defeating his French compatriot Julien Benneteau 6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 in the 1st round. He faced Argentine Juan Mónaco in the 2nd round and won in a four-set thriller, prevailing 7–5, 2–6, 6–1, 7–6(8). Tsonga earned his first straight sets win at Roland Garros when he defeated Belgian Christophe Rochus in the 3rd round 6–2, 6–2, 6–2. But his fine run ended at the hands of No. 5 seed Juan Martín del Potro, losing 6–1, 6–7(5), 6–1, 6–4.

Tsonga then entered Wimbledon, the third grand slam of the year. He survived a tough four-set thriller against Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev 6–3, 5–7, 7–6[7-4], 7–6[7-5] in the 1st round. After receiving a walkover from Simone Bolelli in the 2nd round, Tsonga wasn't able to get past the giant ace machine Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, losing in 4-sets 6–7[5-7], 7–6[7-5], 5–7, 6–7[5-7] in the 3rd round.

Tsonga then entered the last Grand Slam of the year; the US Open in New York, USA at Flushing Meadows. In the 1st round, he dismantled World No. 920 Chase Buchanan 6–0, 6–2, 6–1. He defeated Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 7–5, 6–3, 6–4 in the 2nd round. Tsonga then reached his first US Open 4th round after defeating his compatriot Julien Benneteau 7–6(4), 6–2, 6–4 in the 3rd round. But he lost to the 11th seed Chilean Fernando González 6–3, 3–6, 6–7(3), 4–6 in the 4th round.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga then represented his country France at the Davis Cup playoff- round against Netherlands. Netherlands took the first tie as Thiemo de Bakker upset world no. 13 Gaël Monfils. But, Tsonga strongly levelled the tie to 1 a piece as he defeated the Dutchman Jesse Huta Galung 7–6(2), 6–2, 7–6(3). Then France took the crucial lead in the tie as the French pair of Michaël Llodra & Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated the Dutch pair of Thiemo de Bakker & Igor Sijsling 6–3, 3–6, 7–6(2), 6–4. France ultimately qualified for the Davis Cup World Group in 2010 as Tsonga defeated Thiemo de Bakker 7–6(5), 6–2, 3–6, 7–6(4) and Jérémy Chardy defeated Jesse Huta Galung 6–3, 6–2 wrapping up the tie 4–1.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga then made his entrance at the Paris Masters in France, an ATP 1000 Masters event. He is the defending champion at the event, and has a very slim chance of making it to the ATP World Tour Finals, if he manages to successfully defend the title or reaches the final. He received a bye in the first round. Tsonga started his campaign by earning a 6–1 7–5 win over Spaniard Albert Montañés in just 62 minutes. He stormed into the quarters, beating compatriot but injured Gilles Simon 6–2 6–3 in the third round. But, unfortunately Tsonga was out-of-sorts, losing to world no. 2 Rafael Nadal 5–7, 5–7; thus he failed to qualify for the year-end ATP World Tour finals.

Despite the disappointing loss, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ended his 2009 season staying in the top 10 for the second year in a row; and is guaranteed that, following his compatriot Gaël Monfils's loss in the Paris masters final, against Novak Djokovic.

2010

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had switched his rackets to Babolat (previously using Wilson), and started his 2010 season at the AAMI Kooyong Classic after recovering from a wrist injury. He kicked-off his season in a fine fashion by defeating Swede Robin Söderling in straight sets 7–6(0), 6–1 on day one. On day two, he was due to face Juan Martín del Potro, but he withdrew due to an injury, which let Tsonga through to the final. Tsonga defeated Tommy Haas 6–4, 6–3 on day three but lost to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the final 5–7, 3–6.

Tsonga then entered the first Grand Slam of the year, Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia. He won his first round match against Sergiy Stakhovsky 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 and then cruised past American Taylor Dent 6–4, 6–3, 6–3 in the second round. Tsonga emerged the winner of a match against Germany's Tommy Haas, 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 7–5. In the fourth round, he played his first ever ATP level five-set match in his career against 26th seed Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, winning 6–3, 6–4, 4–6, 6–7(6), 9–7. In the quarter-finals, he faced World No. 3 Novak Djokovic, and in his second five-set match, Tsonga defeated the Serbian 7–6(8), 6–7(5), 1–6, 6–3, 6–1, after the Serb became ill during the match. Tsonga's fatigue soon took a toll on him though, as he was badly beaten in the semifinals by No.1-ranked Roger Federer 2–6, 3–6, 2–6.

After his run at Melbourne, he withstood a stomach injury and was forced to take a few weeks rest.

In the first round of the 2010 Davis Cup, France faced Germany. In the singles, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga helped his country (France) to take an unassailable 3-0 lead, by winning the 2nd rubber match 6–3, 6–2, 6–7(2), 6–3 against Benjamin Becker. In the 4th rubber match (the dead rubber match), Tsonga was forced to retire against Simon Greul, trailing 6–4, 2–6, 0–1 due to the reoccurring injury.

He made his debut at the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in Monaco as the 5th seed, and thus received a bye in the first round. In his opening round (second round), he played Nicolás Almagro and both produced another scintillating match (like in their previous meeting in Melbourne), with Tsonga prevailing 7–6(5), 7–5. In the third round however, he was edged out in an exciting match against in-form No.9 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero 1–6, 6–3, 5–7.

Seeded 8th at the 2010 French Open, he faced a tough encounter against upcoming German Daniel Brands, defeating the German in a grueling 5 setter 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–7(2), 7–5 in the first round. He easily defeated compatriot Josselin Ouanna 6–0, 6–1, 6–4 in the second round. He survived a test, along with back pains to prevail over Thiemo de Bakker 6–7(6), 7–6(4), 6–3, 6–4. Unfortunately in the fourth round, Tsonga had to withdraw after losing the first set 2–6 Mikhail Youzhny due to the progressive back injury from the previous round.

Scans showed that Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had sustained a right hip injury as well as the back injury and as a result, he could potentially miss out on the entire grass court season, including the 2010 Wimbledon Championships due to being advised to rest for 2-3 weeks (not including the recovery time to play again).

Playing style

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is known for his powerful, precise serves, as well as heavy forehands. Additionally, his backhand down the line has become one of the best in men's tennis. He has an offensive baseline style of play, and is also known for his superb feel at the net. He is currently one of the very few remaining players who often utilize a serve-and-volley type of play. All of these weapons make him a force to behold on faster surfaces, such as grass and hard courts. But in general, he is an all-court surface player, as his skills on clay-court are improving. To date, Tsonga has achieved his best results at the Australian Open, played on a Plexicushion hardcourt surface.

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