Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
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| Country |  France |
|---|---|
| Residence | Gingins, Switzerland |
| Date of birth | April 17, 1985 |
| Place of birth | Le Mans, France |
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Weight | 91 kg (200 lb) |
| Turned pro | 2004 |
| Plays | Right-handed; two-handed backhand |
| Career prize money | US$4,705,844[1] |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 128-58 |
| Career titles | 6 |
| Highest ranking | No. 6 (November 17, 2008) |
| Current ranking | No. 11 (July 5, 2010) |
| Grand Slam results | |
| Australian Open | F (2008) |
| French Open | 4R (2009, 2010) |
| Wimbledon | QF (2010) |
| US Open | 4R (2009) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 36–22 |
| Career titles | 4 |
| Highest ranking | No. 33 (October 26, 2009) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (2008) |
| French Open | 1R (2002, 2003, 2009) |
| Last updated on: 4th February, 2010. | |
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (born April 17, 1985) is a French professional tennis player.
Born in Le Mans, Tsonga had a French mother, Évelyne, and a Congolese father, Didier, who moved to France in the 1970s to play handball.[2] Tsonga is a member of the Tennis Club de Paris (TCP), a famous club in Paris, France.
Tsonga 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 the then world number 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. 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 tournament.
Tsonga followed this up by winning his first ATP Masters Series championship at the 2008 Paris Masters, thus qualifying for the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, China. His best performance in a major tournament since 2008 was reaching the semi-final of the 2010 Australian Open. He also reached his first quarterfinal in a grand slam tournament (other than the Australian Open), at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships.
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Background
Tsonga is of mixed ancestry. His father, Didier Tsonga, is Congolese and his mother Evelyne is French. Jo's father moved to France during the 1970s to fulfill his own dreams of becoming a handball great, where he eventually met Evelyne and they married. Tsonga is nicknamed the Muhammad Ali of Tennis, owing to his being directly descended from the Clay [Ali's original surname] family line, his father Didier having being a second cousin to the Clay family of Louisville, Kentucky.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has a younger brother (Enzo) who, much like Jo, has been inspired to play sports and is part of the French basketball program (junior). He also has an elder sister (Sasha) who is less involved with sporting ventures. Tsonga and Gaël Monfils developed a good friendship from a young age, where they enjoyed mimicking all the tennis greats of the past.
As a junior, Tsonga reached a ranking of 2 and claimed the US Open title. He reached 3 other semi-finals of junior grand slam events. Marcos Baghdatis was a rival of Tsonga's in the junior stage.
Tsonga is nicknamed Tsunami,for his very powerful serves and aggressive forehand and baseline play. Tsonga showed Tsunami performance in the Australian Open 2008 semi-final, defeating Nadal in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
Tennis career
Early career
Tsonga had a successful junior career, winning the US 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.[3]
2007
In January 2007, then ranked #212 in the world, Tsonga received a wild card entry into the 2007 Australian Open, where in only his second senior Grand Slam match he met up with sixth seed Andy Roddick for the second time in his career. What followed was the longest tiebreaker in Australian Open history in the first set, which he went on to win (20-18). Tsonga forced a tiebreaker in the second set as well. However, he went on to lose the match 6–7(18), 7–6(2), 6–3, 6–3. He was just 21 at the time.
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. Tsonga won the match after two tiebreakers, 7–6(5), 7–6(2), to seal his most prominent victory since his triumph in ATP debut over former world #1 Carlos Moyà, then ranked #6 in the world, at Beijing in 2004. Suffering from fatigue however, Tsonga went on to lose to promising Croatian youngster Marin Čilić in the following round.
At Wimbledon 2007, where he was again awarded a wild card entry, he reached the fourth round (his first time past round one of a Slam), defeating countryman Julien Benneteau, Nicolás Lapentti, and Feliciano López. 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 seeded player in his progress 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 US Open, 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, in what proved to be Henman's last Grand Slam match. He then lost to Rafael Nadal 7–6(3), 6–2, 6–1.
The 2007 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon tournament started strongly for Tsonga. He did not drop a set, beating Vincent Spadea and winning against fourth seed and friend Richard Gasquet (who beat him at Wimbledon) 6–4, 6–4, and then defeating Olivier Rochus. He then lost 6–1, 6–2 to compatriot Sébastien Grosjean. He partnered up with Grosjean, however, in men's doubles, where the team was honored a wildcard. In the first round, the team beat Julien Benneteau and Michaël Llodra, both compatriots and top seeds, 2–6, 6–4 before a retirement. The team defeated compatriots Fabrice Santoro and Gilles Simon in the quarterfinals and third seeds and also compatriots Arnaud Clément and Nicolas Mahut in the semifinals. Tsonga won his first doubles title and Grosjean won his first doubles title in three years by defeating Łukasz Kubot and Lovro Zovko in the final 6–4, 6–3.
By the end of the year, 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, Tsonga played and won a singles match at the 2008 Next Generation Adelaide International. He defeated Victor Hănescu 6–3, 4–6, 7–5 in the first round and 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.
Tsonga played doubles in the Sydney Medibank International with friend and compatriot 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.
Tsonga began his 2008 Australian Open campaign with a tough first round match against ninth seed Andy Murray, and pulled off a shock victory, winning 7–5, 6–4, 0–6, 7–6(5),[4] setting up a clash with American qualifier Sam Warburg in the second round. After defeating Warburg in straight sets, Tsonga advanced to the third round, where he was victorious over 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.[5] Tsonga dismantled the favored Youzhny in straight sets, 7–5, 6–0, 7–6(6). In the semifinals, Tsonga delivered a strong performance to destroy 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 serve, finesse volleys, and aggressive baseline play; it was a performance that drew the Melbourne crowd to their feet.[6][7] He did not face a break point until the third set while breaking the Spaniard five times in the match.[8] 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 tournament.[8]
Tsonga was beaten by world number three Novak Djokovic in the final, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(2). Tsonga was the only player in the tournament to take a set from Djokovic. Following the tournament, he saw his ranking climb to a career high world number 18. Tsonga then competed at the Indian Wells Masters, where he reached the fourth round, before losing to defending champion Rafael Nadal in 3 sets 7–6(4), 6–7(3), 5–7. Following the tournament, Tsonga saw his ATP ranking climb again to a new career high of world number 12.
Tsonga had pulled out of the French Open because of a knee problem that has lasted for several months.[9] This knee injury made him pull out of the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup, France vs. United States. 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 Moyà 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.
Tsonga entered the Thailand Open as the second seeded player. After receiving a bye in the first round, Tsonga defeated Lukáš Dlouhý in a tight three-setter 7–6(9), 3–6, 7–6(1) in the second round. He then went on to have a straight set victory over the number eight seed Jürgen Melzer, 6–3, 6–2, and a straight sets win over good friend and fellow compatriot, Gaël Monfils 6–0, 6–3. Tsonga went on to defeat the top seed and 2008 Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic 7–6(4), 6–4 to claim his first career ATP title. At the Paris Masters, 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.[10]
In the round robin portion of the Masters Cup, Tsonga lost in succession to Nikolay Davydenko 7–6(6), 4–6, 6–7(0) and Juan Martín 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 Medibank International as the #3 seed, defeated Simone Bolelli 6–4, 6–1 in the 2nd round but had to retire before his quarterfinal against Jarkko Nieminen with a back injury.
He then entered the Australian Open, defeating Juan Mónaco in the first round 6–4, 6–4, 6–0. He then defeated Ivan Ljubičić 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.
Tsonga then entered the South African Tennis Open in Johannesburg. He defeated Thiago Alves 6–4, 6–1, Denis Istomin 6–1, 6–4, Kristof Vliegen 6–4, 6–1 and Frederico Gil 6–3, 6–4 to reach the final, where he beat fellow Frenchman Jérémy Chardy 6–4, 7–6(5) to win his first title of the year and third overall, without dropping a set throughout the whole week.
After his triumph in South Africa, Tsonga then entered the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. He defeated Dutchman Jesse Huta Galung 7–6(4), 7–6(4) in the first round. He then defeated Russian, Dmitry Tursunov in the second round 7–6(6), 6–2 but he lost to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals 4–6, 7–6(5), 4–6.
Tsonga then entered the Open 13 in Marseille. He defeated Andrey Golubev 7–6(5), 6–2 in the first round, and then reached his sixth quarterfinal of the season by defeating Simone Bolelli 6–3, 6–2. After a three-set win over Feliciano López, 6–2, 6–7(1), 6–4, Tsonga faced Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, winning 6–4, 7–6(1) in what was his fourth consecutive win over the Serb. In his second all-French final of the month, he defeated Michaël Llodra 7–5, 7–6(3) to win his second tournament in three weeks.
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 Michaël Llodra and Richard Gasquet would pair up to play the doubles. After Simon lost the first match against Tomáš Berdych, Tsonga defeated Radek Štěpánek 7–5, 6–2, 7–6(1) to level the tie. It would prove insufficient, though, as Llodra and Gasquet lost the doubles to 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 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, where he received a bye for the first round. He defeated the Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 7–5, 6–3 in the second round but made an early exit from the tournament as he was defeated by the Russian Igor Andreev 5–7, 4–6 in the third round.
Next up for Tsonga was the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. He defeated Agustín Calleri 6–1, 6–1 in the second and Robert Kendrick 7–5, 6–4 in third round, after receiving a first round bye. Then he defeated compatriot Gilles Simon in the fourth 6–7(4), 6–3, 6–2 only to lose to Serbian Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinal 3–6, 4–6.
Tsonga was set to make his return at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, an ATP World Tour Master 1000 event (after sacrificing two ATP World Tour Tournaments beforehand). However, he lost his first singles match in the clay court season at the hands of his French compatriot Richard Gasquet 6–7(2), 4–6. Tsonga also competed in the doubles category. He and his partner Julien Benneteau defeated the English pair of Andy Murray and Ross Hutchins 6–4, 6–4 in the first round, but lost to the Polish pair of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 5–7, 3–6 in the second round.
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.[11] But, Tsonga's poor clay court form continued as he lost to Croat Ivan Ljubičić 4–6, 5–7 in the 2nd round.
Tsonga then represented France at Düsseldorf, Germany in the ARAG World Team Cup along with his compatriots Gilles Simon and Jérémy Chardy. France was drawn in the Red Group against Sweden, Germany and United States. Tsonga won the first tie against Sweden's Andreas Vinciguerra 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 while Gilles Simon lost the second tie to Robin Söderling 6–4, 2–6, 0–6. But, the French pair of Tsonga and Chardy lost the tie 1–2 as they were defeated by the Swedish pair of Robin Söderling and Robert Lindstedt 6–2, 3–6 [10–7]. Then the French team was up against the home side Germany, who won their first tie against United States 2–1. Gilles Simon lost the first tie to German Rainer Schüttler 4–6, 4–6. Tsonga was defeated by German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6–7(2), 6–3, 6–3, who clinched the tie for Germany 2–0. France lost the tie to Germany 0-3 as the French pair of Simon and Chardy lost to the German pair of Nicolas Kiefer and Mischa Zverev 0–6, 4–6. Next it was France against USA. Both the teams were out of the competition and was playing this tie for pride. Sam Querrey won the first tie for USA against France's Gilles Simon 7–5, 6–3. Then, Tsonga was able to even the tie up as he defeated American Robby Ginepri 3–6, 6–2, 6–4. But, France lost their third successive tie this week as the pair of Simon and Chardy lost to the American pair of Mardy Fish and Sam Querrey 6–2, 4–6 [7–10].
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 started his Wimbledon preparations at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany. He defeated his French compatriot Fabrice Santoro 7–5, 6–2 in the 1st round. But, Tsonga suffered a straight sets defeat against German Tommy Haas 3–6, 6–7 [3–7] in the 2nd round. But, Jo was still alive in the doubles category where he was paired along with his French compatriot Marc Gicquel. The French pair defeated Rogier Wassen & Igor Zelenay 6–3, 6–2 in the 1st round but lost to the pair of Andreas Beck and Marco Chiudinelli 4–6, 6–1, [8–10] in the 2nd round.
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 Karlović 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 after his Wimbledon 3rd round exit entered the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C. He received a bye in the 1st round but lost to the American John Isner in the 2nd round 6–4,6–7(2),6–7(4).
Tsonga made his debut at the Rogers Cup – ATP Masters 1000 World Tour event in Montreal, Canada. Tsonga received a bye in the 1st round and defeated German Rainer Schüttler 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 in the second round. In the third round he defeated Gilles Simon 6–3, 6–3. In the quarterfinals he overcame world number one Roger Federer 7–6(5), 1–6, 7–6(3), coming back from an injury timeout after winning the first set by a dive-volley, as well as being 1–5 down in the third set. He advanced to the semifinals, where he lost to Andy Murray 4–6, 6–7(8).
Tsonga then entered the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, an ATP Masters 1000 World Tour event in Cincinnati, Ohio – again a debut. He received a bye in the 1st round and made an early exit from the singles category, unexpectedly losing to the world No. 124 Chris Guccione of Australia 6–7(12), 2–6 in the 2nd round. But at the time, Jo was still in the doubles category as he and his French partner Michaël Llodra defeated the pair of Jürgen Melzer & Radek Štěpánek 7–6(2), 6–4 in the 1st round. The French duo then defeated the pair of Bruno Soares & Kevin Ullyett 6–0, 6–3 in the 2nd round. But, they lost to the pair of Mahesh Bhupati & Mark Knowles 6–7(6), 3–6 in the quarter-finals.
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.
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.
Tsonga then entered the PTT Thailand Open where he is the defending champion and seeded no. 1 as Rafael Nadal pulled himself out of the event just days before the tournament began. Tsonga received a bye in the 1st round. He defeated Ernests Gulbis in a close 2nd-round match, 6–7(3), 7–6(4), 7–6(2). Tsonga then survived another close battle against Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland beating him 6–7(7), 6–3, 6–4 in the quarter-finals. But, he crashed out to the young Serbian Viktor Troicki 1–6, 6–2, 6–3 in the semi-finals due to serious fatigue. Tsonga also competed in the doubles category with his French partner Fabrice Santoro. The French duo defeated the pair of Travis Parrott & Filip Polášek 6–3, 6–7(9), 10–7. Then, the French pair defeated Benjamin Becker & Leonardo Mayer 5–7, 6–1, 10–6 in the quarter-finals. But, they lost to the pair of Mischa Zverev & Guillermo García López 3–6, 2–6 in the semi-finals.
Tsonga then entered the Japan Open in Tokyo. He defeated Russian Mischa Zverev in straight sets 6–4, 6–3 in the 1st round. Tsonga defeated his French compatriot Richard Gasquet 4–6, 6–2, 6–2 in the 2nd round. In the quarters, he rallied from a set down once again, to claim a 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 win over Latvian Ernests Gulbis. Tsonga then reached his third ATP World Tour final of the season after defeating his French compatriot Gaël Monfils in 55 minutes 6–3, 6–3. In the final, he beat Mikhail Youzhny 6–3, 6–3 in just over an hour to clinch his third title of the season, and his first ever ATP World Tour 500 title. In the doubles category, Tsonga paired up with Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka but were defeated in the second round.
Tsonga then entered the Shanghai Masters in China, An ATP 1000 Masters event. He defeated Chinese Zeng Shao-Xuan 6–3, 6–3 in the 2nd round. But, Tsonga faded to a 3–6, 3–6 loss against Robin Söderling in the third round. Tsonga also competed in the doubles category with his French compatriot Julien Benneteau. The pair defeated Michaël Llodra and Radek Štěpánek 7–5, 7–5 in the first round, before scoring a major upset over the World No. 1 pair composed of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić 6–4, 6–4 in the second round. The French duo defeated František Čermák and Michal Mertiňák 3–6, 6–4, [10–7] in the quarter-final, then reached the final after defeating third seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles 7–6(2), 6–2 in the semi-final. In the final they beat the sixth seeded pair of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 6–2, 6–4 to win their first ever ATP Masters 1000 doubles title.
Tsonga then entered the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon in Lyon, France. He defeated Kevin Kim of USA in 2 tight sets 7–6(5), 7–6(5) in the first round. Tsonga dominated Olivier Rochus in the second round, 6–3, 6–2. But an out-of-sorts Tsonga, lost a close battle against his French compatriot and veteran Arnaud Clément losing in 3 tight sets 7–5, 4–6, 6–7(8).
Tsonga then entered the Valencia Open in Valencia, Spain. But, unfortunately he had to retire in his first round match against Russian Mikhail Youzhny 7-6(3), 0-6, 0-3 (retired). With that loss Tsonga's chances of qualifying for the year-ending world tour finals is also literally gone.
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, 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
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 Nicolás 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.
Tsonga then entered Open 13 in Marseilles, France. He was the defending champion at this tournament but he could not defend the title this year. After receiving a bye in the first round, Tsonga defeated his compatriot Josselin Ouanna in the second round 7–6(9), 6–4 and Ukrainian Illya Marchenko 6–3, 6–4 to progress to the semi-finals. Plagued by inconsistent form, Tsonga lost against his compatriot Julien Benneteau 6–7(11), 7–5, 6–7(3) in the semi-final, ending his title defense.
Despite plans of not playing at the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships, he accepted a wildcard became the 5th seed in the tournament. He was handed a path into Round 2 against Michaël Llodra, who had arrived with form having the Open 13 title under his belt. After Tsonga took the first set 7–6(9), Llodra retired due to injury. Struggling with illness and lack of form, Tsonga lost with ease against Ivan Ljubičić 5–7, 3–6 in the second round.
In the first round of the 2010 Davis Cup, France faced Germany. In the singles, 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 was seeded 9th at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. After receiving a seeding bye into the second round, he beat Marinko Matosevic and Albert Montañés before crashing out to Robin Söderling 3–6, 4–6 in the fourth round.
He was seeded 8th at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. After receiving a bye to go into the second round (due to being seeded), he beat Guillermo García López 6–4, 6–3. In the third round he took out No.28 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber 6–2, 7–5. In the fourth round, he crushed No.12 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero 6–2, 6–2. In the quarterfinals however, he lost to No.2 seed Rafael Nadal 3–6, 2–6 after blowing 8 break point opportunities.
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.
Jo had been injured most of the time at the start of the clay season, and so he made another tournament debut, the following week in Barcelona at the 2010 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell. He was seeded 3rd, and thus received a bye in the first round. In his opening match (second-round), he beat Czech Jan Hájek comfortably 6–3, 6–2. In the third round, he faced Seed #15 Nicolás Almagro in a rematch of their last meeting at Monte Carlo in the previous week. Jo won again in another tough match against him 5–7, 6–1, 6–4. However, he was stunned by up-and-coming Dutch youngster Thiemo de Bakker 4–6, 6–3, 3–6 in the quarterfinals.
At the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome as the No.7 seed, he received a bye into the second round. He recorded his first win over Viktor Troicki 6–2, 6–3 in the opening round. In the third round, he beat Colombian Santiago Giraldo 6–3, 6–4. In the first quarterfinal appearance in a clay court Masters 1000 event, he was beaten by in-form #13 seed and clay-court specialist David Ferrer 4–6, 1–6.
At the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, he was forced to retire in the opening round against Guillermo García López after trailing a set 2–6.
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 Tsonga had sustained a right hip injury as well as the back injury.
In a pretune-up event to Wimbledon, at the Boodles Challenge exhibition tournament (similar to AAMI Kooyong Classic tuneup event for the Australian Open), Tsonga won his first rubber match (day one) against Nikolay Davydenko 6–3, 7–6(4). In the second rubber match (day two) he beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6–3, 7–6(2).
He is seeded 10th at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. He defeated Robert Kendrick in a tough opening round 7–6(2), 7–6(6), 3–6, 6–4. In the second round, he survived a mentality meltdown to finally put away up-and-coming Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov in five sets 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(4), 5–7, 10–8. He defeated German qualifier Tobias Kamke 6–1, 6–4, 7–6(1) in the third round. He went on to beat his previous best fourth round run in 2007 by beating compatriot Julien Benneteau 6–1, 6–4, 3–6, 6–1 to reach the quarterfinals for the first time. However in the quarterfinal round, after missing a crucial point in the 2nd set tiebreak which could have brought up set point for Jo for a chance to go up 2 sets to 0, he eventually fell to home favorite and British representative hope Andy Murray 7–6(5), 6–7(5), 2–6, 2–6.
Playing style
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.
Equipment
Clothing: Adidas Men's Competition Crew
Shoes: Adidas Barricade V
Racquet: Babolat AeroPro Drive Cortex GT
Major finals
Grand Slam finals
Singles: 1 (0–1)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Runner-up | 2008 | Australian Open | Hard |  Novak Djokovic |
6–4, 4–6, 3–6, 6–7(2) |
Masters Series finals
Singles: 1 (1–0)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Winner | 2008 | Paris | Hard (i) |  David Nalbandian |
6–3, 4–6, 6–4 |
Doubles: 1 (1–0)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score in the final |
| Winner | 2009 | Shanghai | Hard | Julien Benneteau |
 Mariusz Fyrstenberg Marcin Matkowski |
6–2, 6–4 |
Career finals
Singles: 6 (5–1)
|
|
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Runner-up | 1. | January 31, 2008 |  Australian Open, Australia |
Hard | Novak Djokovic |
6–4, 4–6, 3–6, 6–7(2) |
| Winner | 1. | September 28, 2008 |  Bangkok, Thailand |
Hard (i) | Novak Djokovic |
7–6(4), 6–4 |
| Winner | 2. | November 2, 2008 | Paris, France |
Hard (i) | David Nalbandian |
6–3, 4–6, 6–4 |
| Winner | 3. | February 2, 2009 |  Johannesburg, South Africa |
Hard | Jérémy Chardy |
6–4, 7–6(5) |
| Winner | 4. | February 16, 2009 | Marseille, France |
Hard (i) | Michaël Llodra |
7–5, 7–6(3) |
| Winner | 5. | October 5, 2009 |  Tokyo, Japan |
Hard |  Mikhail Youzhny |
6–3, 6–3 |
Doubles: 4 (4–0)
|
|
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score in the final |
| Winner | 1. | October 22, 2007 | Lyon, France |
Carpet (i) | Sébastien Grosjean |
Łukasz Kubot Lovro Zovko |
6–4, 6–3 |
| Winner | 2. | January 7, 2008 | Sydney, Australia |
Hard | Richard Gasquet |
 Bob Bryan Mike Bryan |
4–6, 6–4, [11–9] |
| Winner | 3. | January 11, 2009 | Brisbane, Australia |
Hard | Marc Gicquel |
 Fernando Verdasco Mischa Zverev |
6–4, 6–3 |
| Winner | 4. | October 18, 2009 |  Shanghai, China |
Hard | Julien Benneteau |
Mariusz Fyrstenberg Marcin Matkowski |
6–2, 6–4 |
Performance timeline
Singles
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.
| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Career SR | Career Win-Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | F | QF | SF | 0 / 4 | 15–4 |
| French Open | A | A | LQ | LQ | 1R | A | A | A | 4R | 4R | 0 / 3 | 6–3 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | A | A | A | 4R | A | 3R | QF | 0 / 3 | 9–3 |
| US Open | A | A | A | LQ | A | A | 3R | 3R | 4R | 0 / 3 | 7–3 | |
| Grand Slam SR | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 13 | N/A |
| Grand Slam Win-Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 5–3 | 8–2 | 12–4 | 12–3 | N/A | 37–13 |
| Indian Wells Masters | A | A | A | A | LQ | A | A | 4R | 3R | 4R | 0 / 3 | 5–3 |
| Miami Masters | A | A | A | A | LQ | A | A | 3R | QF | QF | 0 / 3 | 7–3 |
| Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 |
| Rome Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | QF | 0 / 3 | 2–3 |
| Madrid Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | 2R | 2R | 0 / 3 | 2–3 |
| Canada Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | SF | 0 / 1 | 3–1 | |
| Cincinnati Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | |
| Shanghai Masters | Not Masters Series | 3R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | ||||||||
| Paris Masters | A | A | A | 2R | A | LQ | 2R | W | QF | 1 / 4 | 11–3 | |
| Hamburg Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | NMS | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | |
| ATP World Tour Finals | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | RR | A | 0 / 1 | 1–2 | |
| ATP Tournaments Won | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | N/A | 6 |
| Year End Ranking | 899 | 500 | 394 | 163 | 338 | 212 | 43 | 6 | 10 | N/A | N/A | |
Davis Cup matches are included in the statistics.
A = did not participate in the tournament.
SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.
Challengers and Futures finals
Singles: 17 (14–3)
| Legend |
| Challengers (8–1) |
| Futures (6–2) |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Runner-up | 1. | July 21, 2003 | Saint-Raphaël, France |
Hard | Benjamin Cassaigne |
5–7, 1–6 |
| Winner | 1. | June 14, 2004 | Lanzarote, Spain |
Hard | Daniel Muñoz de la Nava |
7–5, 6–3 |
| Winner | 2. | July 5, 2004 |  Nottingham, United Kingdom |
Grass | Alex Bogdanović |
6–3, 6–4 |
| Winner | 3. | July 26, 2004 | Togliatti, Russia |
Hard |  Ladislav Švarc |
6–3, 7–6(2) |
| Winner | 4. | March 28, 2005 |  León, Mexico |
Hard | Glenn Weiner |
7–5, 7–5 |
| Winner | 5. | October 10, 2005 | Saint-Dizier, France |
Hard (i) | Torsten Popp |
6–0, 7–6(8) |
| Winner | 6. | March 13, 2006 | Lille, France |
Hard (i) | Sébastien de Chaunac |
7–5, 7–5 |
| Winner | 7. | March 28, 2006 | Bath, United Kingdom |
Hard (i) |  Michael Ryderstedt |
6–3, 6–2 |
| Winner | 8. | April 4, 2006 | Bath, United Kingdom |
Hard (i) | Filip Prpić |
6–3, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 2. | April 24, 2006 | Lanzarote, Spain |
Hard | Filip Prpić |
6–3, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 3. | September 18, 2006 | Plaisir, France |
Hard (i) | Grégory Carraz |
6–7(7), 1–6 |
| Winner | 9. | October 9, 2006 | Rennes, France |
Carpet (i) | Tobias Summerer |
1–6, 7–5, 7–5 |
| Winner | 10. | March 19, 2007 | Poitiers, France |
Hard (i) |  Andis Juška |
6–1, 7–5 |
| Winner | 11. | April 2, 2007 | Tallahassee, United States |
Hard | Rik de Voest |
6–1, 6–4 |
| Winner | 12. | April 9, 2007 | Mexico City, Mexico |
Hard | Bruno Echagaray |
6–4, 2–6, 6–1 |
| Winner | 13. | April 30, 2007 | Lanzarote, Spain |
Hard | Paul Baccanello |
6–2, 6–2 |
| Winner | 14. | June 5, 2007 | Surbiton, United Kingdom |
Grass | Ivo Karlović |
6–3, 7–6(4) |
Doubles: 2 (1–1)
| Legend |
| Challengers (0–0) |
| Futures (1–1) |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score in the final |
| Runner-up | 1. | April 21, 2003 | Hohenbrunn, Germany |
Clay | Édouard Roger-Vasselin |
Robert Lindstedt Fredrik Loven |
4–6, 1–6 |
| Winner | 1. | April 14, 2004 | Grasse, France |
Clay | Gilles Simon |
Gaël Monfils Josselin Ouanna |
7–5, 6–2 |
References
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ globesports.com: Tsonga continues to soar
- ↑ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22793071/
- ↑ "Roddick Eases Into Second Round; Murray Upset". atptennis.com. 2008-01-14. http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/2008news/ao_day1.1.asp. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
- ↑ "Mikhail Youzhny playing activity". atptennis.com. http://www.atptennis.com/3/en/players/playerprofiles/playeractivity.asp?player=Y061. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
- ↑ "Tsonga stuns Nadal to reach final". BBC Sport. 2008-01-24. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7206398.stm. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
- ↑ "Tsonga v Nadal as it happened". BBC Sport. 2008-01-24. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7205410.stm. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "A New Star is Born: Tsonga Continues Fairytale Run". atptennis.com. 2008-01-24. http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/2008news/ao_thursday2.1.asp. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
- ↑ Christopher Clarey (2008-05-25). "Tsonga Is Out of French Open". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/sports/tennis/25tsonga.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ↑ atptennis.com (2008-11-02). "Paris Champion Tsonga Grabs Final Masters Cup Spot". http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/2008news/paris_sunday2.asp. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
- ↑ "Tsonga holds off Safin challenge; Wawrinka cruises". http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/1/en/news/newsarticle_3634.asp. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
External links
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the International Tennis Federation
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Davis Cup
- Jo Wilfried Tsonga's official website
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