Name: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
DOB: April 17, 1985
Country: France
Height: 6' 2
Residence: La Rippe, Switzerland
Turn pro: 2004
Plays: Right-handed, two-handed backhand
Racquet: Wilson K Factor Kobra Tour
Born on April 17, 1985, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is well-known, professional tennis player. He was born to a Congolese father (Didier Tsonga) and a French mother at Le Mans, France; Tsonga is therefore a French citizen. As a player in the junior league, Tsonga no doubt made a statement – he made it to the semifinals of three different Grand Slam events and even won the 2003 Juniors U.S. Open title, beating player Marcos Baghdatis. His impressive record includes wins against ex-number one players such as Carlos Moya and Lleyton Hewitt and ex-top five player Tim Henman.
Tsonga’s career high took place at the Australian Open in 2007, which he was able to participate in thanks to a wildcard. This Australian Open was only Tsonga’s second Grand Slam, but he was paired up with Andy Roddick, the sixth seed at the time. Despite his singles rank of number 212, Tsonga beat Andy Roddick in the first set 20-18 – it went on to be the longest tiebreaker in the history of the Australian Open. In the second set, Tsonga lost with two points at the end of another tiebreaker. He eventually lost the match with the score 6-7 (18), 7-6 (2), 6-3, and 6-3. Tsonga achieved all this when he was only 21 years old.
In 2007, Tsonga won four Challenger titles in Tallahassee, Lanzarote, Mexico City, and Surbiton. While he was playing at the Surbiton Challenger (which he won, as mentioned), Tsonga was also participating in the qualifiers for the 2007 Queens Club Championships. He scored five victories in a matter of only two days, performing well in both events. Tsonga played against ex-number one champion, sixth seed, and current ATP ranked 16th player Lleyton Hewitt in the second round of the Queen’s Championships. After two lengthy tiebreakers, with the score of 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2), Tsonga defeated defending champion Hewitt. This was most definitely his biggest victory since his match against Carlos Moya (ranked 6th) at Beijing, three years before. Due to fatigue, Tsonga was not able to perform to the best of his ability in the next round against Croatian Marin Cilic, which he inevitably lost.
Tsonga received another wildcard for the 2007 Wimbledon, where he successfully made it to the fourth round, gaining victories against players Julien Benneteau, Nicolas Lapentti, and Feliciano Lopez. This was Tsonga’s first time past the first round of a Grand Slam. However, he was soon defeated by French Richard Gasquet (12th seed and ranked 14th in the world) by 6-4, 6-3, and 6-4. Tsonga did not once defeat a seed in this tournament, specifically because one potential seed had relinquished the tournament. Tsonga’s experiences at the 2007 Wimbledon upped his number 110 ranking to a number 74 ranking, entering into the realm of the top 75.
At the 2007 U.S. Open, Tsonga played against Oscar Hernandez in the first round, who he defeated by 7-5, 6-1, and 6-3. Against Tim Henman, Tsonga won 7-6 (2), 2-6, 7-5, and 6-4 in Henman’s very last Grand Slam match. In his last match, Tsonga was defeated by number two ranked Rafael Nadal 7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-2, who was actually injured at that time.
Tsonga’s performance at the 2007 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon proved to be extremely successful. He defeated Vincent Spadea, fourth seed Richard Gasquet (by 6-4, 6-4) who had defeated him at the previous Wimbledon, and Olivier Rochus. Then, he was defeated by 6-1, 6-2 against fellow citizen Sebastien Grosjean. However, Tsonga paired up with Sebastien Grosjean in the men’s doubles as a wildcard team. Tsonga and Grosjean started off defeating Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra in the first round, who were both fellow Frenchmen (also, top seeds). The score that resulted was 2-6, 6-4. In the quarterfinals, Tsonga’s doubles team defeated fellow countrymen Fabrice Santoro and Gilles Simon (third seeds) and in the semifinals, Arnaud Clement and Nicolas Mahut. In the final, the team won against Lukasz Kubot and Lovro Zovko 6-4/6-3; Tsonga achieved his first doubles title and Grosjean won his first doubles title since three years.