Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Biography

French tennis player who reached the finals of the 2008 Australian Open where he was defeated by Novak Djokovic. He also reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2011 and 2012 and the French Open in 2013.

He was ranked as high as second in the world during this junior career.

He is nicknamed Ali because of his resemblance to the legendary boxer.

His father Didier is Congolese and his mother Evelyne is French. He was raised with two siblings, Enzo and Sasha.

He was defeated by David Ferrer in the semi-finals of the 2013 French Open.

Tsonga is known for his offensive baseline style of play but is also able to mix his style of play up by rushing to the net. He is also currently one of the very few remaining players who often utilize a serve-and-volley type of play. Tsonga’s movement around the court is considered to be very good, considering his height. Tsonga is also known for his ability to serve well under pressure, having saved 67% of the break points he faced in his career as of today, which ranks him in the 4th position among active players. His two weaknesses are his return of serve and to a lesser extent his backhand.

Tsonga was born in Le Mans to a Congolese father, Didier Tsonga, a handball player and a French mother, Évelyne Tsonga. Jo’s father moved to France during the 1970s to fulfill his dreams of becoming a handball great, where he eventually met Évelyne and they married. Tsonga is nicknamed “Ali”, because of his facial resemblance to boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (French pronunciation: ​[ʒo wilfʁid tsɔŋɡa] ; born 17 April 1985) is a French professional tennis player. A member of the Tennis Club de Paris (TCP), Tsonga’s career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 5, which he achieved in February 2012.

Tsonga had a very successful junior career; he won the US Open boys’ singles title in 2003 by defeating Marcos Baghdatis in the final and he was a losing boys’ singles semifinalist in the other three Grand Slam events in the same year. Tsonga reached his career-high boys’ singles ranking of world no. 2 on 13 October 2003.

Tsonga had a career-high ITF junior singles ranking of world No. 2, attained on 13 October 2003. He won the 2003 US Open boys’ singles title. He reached four other singles semifinals of junior Grand Slam events. Marcos Baghdatis was a major rival of Tsonga on the junior tour.

Tsonga suffered a string of injuries beginning late in 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 recurrence of an abdominal injury at the end of 2006. In all, he played (only the singles events of) just eight ATP Tour tournaments from August 2004 to November 2006.

Tsonga turned pro in 2004. He won three singles qualifying matches at the 2004 China Open held in September of that year to reach the singles main draw of an ATP Tour tournament for the first time in his career; in the main draw, he upset former French Open singles champion, former No. 1 and the top seed Carlos Moyá in the first round, before losing to Lee Hyung-taik in the second round.

By the end of the year, Tsonga saw his ranking rise over 150 ranking spots into the top 50. Tsonga began 2007 ranked No. 212, and in early July was in the top 100 at No. 74. In October, Tsonga climbed into the top 50 for the first time in his career, finishing the year ranked No. 43. Tsonga’s year-end 169 ranking spots climb was the biggest climb of any player ranked in the top 75.

The 2007 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon tournament started strongly for Tsonga. He beat Vince Spadea, Richard Gasquet, and Olivier Rochus, before losing to compatriot Sébastien Grosjean. He partnered Grosjean, however, in men’s doubles, where the team was awarded a wildcard. They beat top seeds Julien Benneteau and Michaël Llodra, Fabrice Santoro and Gilles Simon, and then third seeds 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 straight sets.

Then, at the 2007 US Open, Tsonga defeated Óscar Hernández before beating Tim Henman in what proved to be Henman’s last Major. He then lost to Rafael Nadal in three sets.

At Wimbledon 2007, where he was again awarded a wildcard entry, he reached the fourth round (his first time past round one of a Grand Slam), defeating countryman Julien Benneteau, Nicolás Lapentti, and Feliciano López. His run was halted by his countryman and friend, 12th seed Richard Gasquet, in straight sets. 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 No. 110 to No. 74, his first time inside the top 75.

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 won 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 No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, ranked No. 16 in the ATP rankings. Tsonga won the match after two tiebreaks to seal his most prominent victory since his triumph in ATP debut over former No. 1 Carlos Moyà, then ranked No. 6 in the world, at Beijing in 2004. Tsonga went on to lose to promising Croatian youngster Marin Čilić in the following round.

In January 2007, then ranked No. 212 in the world, Tsonga received a wild card entry into the 2007 Australian Open, where in only his second senior Grand Slam tournament match, he met sixth seed Andy Roddick for the second time in his career. What followed was the longest tiebreak in Australian Open history in the first set, which he went on to win (20–18). Tsonga forced a tiebreak in the second set, as well. However, he went on to lose the match in four sets. He was just 21 at the time.

After being awarded the ATP Newcomer of the Year for 2007, 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 a straight-sets win over No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. Tsonga eventually lost to the No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the final in four sets, after winning the first set; it was the only set Djokovic dropped during the tournament.

To date, Tsonga has achieved his best results on hard courts, most notably at the Australian Open, where he made the final in 2008, the quarterfinals in 2009, 2013 and 2017 and the semifinals in 2010 (the Australian Open plays a Plexicushion Prestige surface). In his career on the ATP circuit, the majority of his final appearances have come on hard courts. On grass, he reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2011 and 2012 and the quarterfinals in 2010 and 2016; he also reached the final of the Queen’s Club Championships in 2011. In general, Tsonga has struggled on clay, although his clay-court skills are improving, as evidenced by his 2012 season, where he reached the quarterfinals at the French Open, Monte-Carlo, and Rome. In 2013, he reached the two first clay court semifinals of his career, first at the 2013 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, where he lost to Rafael Nadal, and at the 2013 French Open, where he lost to David Ferrer after beating No. 3 Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. He won his first clay-court tournament at the 2017 Lyon Open.

The Open Sud de France was Tsonga’s second and last ATP World Tour tournament of the first four months of 2018. On 19 March, his ATP singles rankings fell to world no. 38, his lowest since he was ranked world no. 38 on 14 January 2008. Tsonga pulled out of five ATP World Tour tournaments that were to be held in February, March and April (Rotterdam, Marseille, Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo) due to injuries. He underwent left knee surgery on 3 April. Tsonga withdrew from the Masters 1000 tournaments in Madrid and Rome, the Lyon Open and the French Open because he had not recovered from his left knee surgery. On May 28 Tsonga was ranked outside the top 50 of the ATP singles rankings for the first time since 22 October 2007 when he was 22 years old. This was still due to his undergoing surgery earlier in the year on 3 April to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee that resulted in his not playing any tournaments for the next eight weeks. After missing three consecutive grand slam tournaments (French Open, Wimbledon and US Open) for the first time in his career, Tsonga finally made his return to competitive tennis at the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Metz held in September, where he lost his main draw first round match to Peter Gojowczyk. Tsonga won one and lost three singles matches in his next three events in Antwerp, Vienna and Paris. After the Paris Masters, he played just one more match, in the 2018 Davis Cup World Group final against Croatia; he lost the second singles rubber against Marin Čilić.

At the French Open, Tsonga gained a decisive straight-set quarterfinal victory against Roger Federer, making Tsonga the first French player to reach the semifinals since Gaël Monfils in 2008, as well as only the second player after Rafael Nadal to have beaten Federer at both Wimbledon and Roland Garros. Tsonga was then defeated in straight sets by David Ferrer.

As a result of his exploits in the Paris Masters, he qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Tsonga fell to Federer, beat Mardy Fish, and defeated Rafael Nadal to make it to the semifinals. A win over Tomáš Berdych sent Tsonga to the finals of the year-end championships for the first time in his career. In the final, Tsonga fought bravely, but came up short once again against Roger Federer. Tsonga finished the year matching his 2008 career-high ranking of No. 6.

Tsonga then entered the Madrid Masters, but lost in round two. Afterwards, he received the 2008 ATP Most Improved Player of the Year award.

Tsonga entered the Thailand Open as the second-seeded player. He defeated Lukáš Dlouhý, Jürgen Melzer, Gaël Monfils, and top seed and 2008 Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic to claim his first career ATP title. At the Paris Masters, Tsonga overcame Djokovic once again to earn a place in the quarterfinals. He then defeated Andy Roddick and James Blake. In the final, Tsonga defeated David Nalbandian in a competitive three-set match to capture his first career ATP Masters Series championship. His win allowed him to secure a spot in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup.

Tsonga pulled out of the French Open because of a knee problem that lasted for several months. This knee injury made him pull out of the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup, France vs. the United States. He underwent successful knee surgery and participated in the 2008 US Open. He defeated Santiago Ventura and Carlos Moyà, before falling to No. 5 Tommy Robredo in the third round.

Tsonga began his 2008 Australian Open campaign with a tough first-round match against ninth seed Andy Murray and pulled off a four-set victory. Tsonga then defeated Sam Warburg and Guillermo García-López, Richard Gasquet and Mikhail Youzhny to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, Tsonga delivered a strong performance and shocked second seed Rafael Nadal in straight sets. He did not face a break point on his serve until the third set, while breaking the Spaniard five times in the match. The victory earned him a spot in his first Grand Slam final, where he was beaten by No. 3 Novak Djokovic in four sets. 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 of No. 18.

Starting his 2008 season, Tsonga won a singles match at the 2008 Next Generation Adelaide International. He defeated Victor Hănescu and Ernests Gulbis before dispatching Lleyton Hewitt (the top seed). However, he fell in the semifinals to Jarkko Nieminen. In doubles, Tsonga and Sébastien Grosjean lost to Florian Mayer and Chris Haggard in the first round.

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 performances in a major tournament since 2008 are semifinal appearances in the 2010 Australian Open, the 2013 and 2015 French Opens, and at Wimbledon in 2011 and 2012. He also reached the final of the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, where he lost to five-time and defending champion Roger Federer. He achieved his second Masters Series win at the 2014 Canadian Open, defeating four top ten players on the way to victory. This meant that this was the first time a member of the Big Four had not won the Rogers Cup since Andy Roddick in 2003. This feat also made him the first player to defeat Djokovic, Murray, and Federer in the same tournament. On top of his Masters Series victories, Tsonga also reached the final of the 2011 Paris Masters and the 2015 Shanghai Masters — losing to Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic respectively. To add to this, he won the 2009 Shanghai Masters doubles title with partner Julien Benneteau. In 2017, Tsonga helped France to their first Davis Cup win in 16 years after previously losing in the final in 2014.

During the off-season in 2009, Tsonga switched rackets from Wilson to Babolat. He was using Babolat AeroPro Drive+ racket, but in July 2018, changed to the Babolat Pure Strike. His strings are LUXiLON Alu Power Rough strings. He is sponsored by Adidas for his attire.

Tsonga then participated in the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He defeated Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, Michaël Llodra, and Ivan Ljubičić to reach his first final since winning the Japan Open in 2009, but lost there to Robin Söderling. At the Open 13 tennis tournament, Tsonga lost to Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals. A day later, he declared that he had sustained another ankle injury, which again put him out of Davis Cup action against Austria. Tsonga fell in the opening round at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open.

Tsonga then participated in the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He defeated Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, Michaël Llodra, and Ivan Ljubičić to reach his first final since winning the Japan Open in 2009, but lost there to Robin Söderling. At the Open 13 tennis tournament, Tsonga lost to Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals. A day later, he declared that he had sustained another ankle injury, which again put him out of Davis Cup action against Austria. Tsonga fell in the opening round at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open.

Tsonga started his 2009 season in Australia at the Brisbane International tournament. He defeated Agustín Calleri, Jarkko Nieminen, but lost to Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals in three sets. Tsonga teamed up with fellow Frenchman Marc Gicquel to win the doubles title by defeating Fernando Verdasco and Mischa Zverev in the final. The duo had beaten Travis Parrott and Filip Polasek, Simon Aspelin and Pavel Vizner, and Mario Ancic and Paul-Henri Mathieu en route to the finals.

Their next meeting at a Grand Slam was again at the Australian Open, in the 2010 quarterfinals, exactly two years to the day since Djokovic defeated Tsonga to win his first Grand Slam singles title. However, this time it was Tsonga who prevailed, winning in five sets after Djokovic fell ill during the match. It was not until another year and a half until they met again, with the stakes even higher, in the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2011, with the winner advancing to his first Wimbledon final. It was their first meeting on grass, and Djokovic prevailed in four sets to advance to his first Wimbledon final, and in the process ending the seven-and-a-half-year reign of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the top of the rankings. At the 2012 French Open, Tsonga and Djokovic met again in an important match, in the quarterfinals. After losing the first set, Tsonga rallied to take the next two sets and held two match points on Djokovic’s serve in the fourth set before the Serb fought back to force a tie-break. Despite Tsonga’s saving set points in the breaker, Djokovic took one at the third opportunity. This forced a deciding set, which Tsonga lost after more than four hours of play.

He made his return in October for his title defense at the 2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships as the third seed, but rustiness was apparent, and he lost early to Jarkko Nieminen. Entering the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters 1000 as the 12th seed, Tsonga had wins over Feliciano López, Sam Querrey, and Florian Mayer, before losing in the quarterfinals in straight sets to eventual champion Andy Murray. He then entered the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, but lost against Viktor Troicki in the second round. A week later, Tsonga made a semifinal appearance at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, but was beaten by Gaël Monfils for the first time.

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