Jo'-Wilfried Tsonga

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Nickname(s) Tsunami, Muhammed Ali of Tennis
Country France
Residence La Rippe, Switzerland
Date of birth April 17, 1985 (1985-04-17) (age 23)
Place of birth Le Mans, France
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in)
Weight 100 kg (220 lb)
Turned pro 2004
Retired Active
Plays Right-handed; two-handed backhand
Career prize money US$2,178,486[1]
Singles
Career record: 53–28
Career titles: 2
Highest ranking: No. 5 (November 17, 2008)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open F (2008)
French Open 1R (2005)
Wimbledon 4R (2007)
US Open 3R (2007, 2008)
Doubles
Career record: 21–12
Career titles: 3
Highest ranking: No. 67 (May 19, 2008)
Infobox last updated on: January 19, 2009.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Petsonga [2] (born April 17, 1985(1985-04-17)) is a French professional tennis player. Tsonga's career high ranking of No. 7 was achieved on November 17, 2008, which is his current ranking. On this date, he also became the new number 1 French player, ahead of Gilles Simon, Gaël Monfils and Richard Gasquet.[3] Born in Le Mans, Tsonga is biracial--he has a White French mother (specified because not all French people are white), Évelyne, and a Black Congolese father, Didier, who moved to France in the 1970s to play handball.[4] He has a cousin, Charles N'Zogbia, who plays football for Newcastle United as a midfielder. Tsonga is member of the Tennis Club de Paris (TCP) a famous club in Paris, France.

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 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 2008 Australian Open.

Tsonga won his first career ATP Masters Series championship at the 2008 Paris Masters on November 2, 2008. In the final, he defeated the No. 8 seed David Nalbandian in 3 sets. Tsonga, for the first time, thus qualified for the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, China.

Background

Tsonga and fellow tennis player Gaël Monfils would practice together and spend hours trying to develop a serve like Andy Roddick's.[5]

Both of Tsonga's 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.[6]

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.[7] Tsonga is coached by compatriot Éric Winogradsky.


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.[8]


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). Tsonga forced a tiebreaker in the second, losing it and taking only two points, and went on to lose the match 6–7(20), 7–6(2), 6–2, 6–3. He was 21 years old at that 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, Nicolas 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 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 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 an injured 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

Tsonga in a much better shape for the 2008 season.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),[9] 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.[10] Tsonga dismantled the favored Youzhny in straight sets, 7–5, 6–0, 7–6(6). In the semifinals, 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 serve, finesse volleys, and aggressive baseline play; it was a performance that drew the Melbourne crowd to their feet.[11][12] He did not face a break point until the third set while breaking the Spaniard five times in the match.[13] 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.[14]

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.[15] 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.[16]

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 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 Agustin 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 2009 Medibank International as the #3 seed, but had to retire before his quarterfinal against Jarkko Nieminen with a back injury.

He defeated Juan Monaco in the first round of the Australian Open 6–4, 6–4, 6–0. He then defeated Ivan Ljubičić in the second round 6–7(4), 7–6(, 7–6(7), 6–2, and Dudi Sela in the third 6–4, 6–2, 1–6, 6–1, #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 4–6.


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.


Equipment

Clothing: adidas Men's Winter Competition Crew
Shoes: adidas Barricade V
Racquet: Wilson (K) Factor (K)Blade 98 Racquets