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The tennis scene has been dominated by three players in the past two decades. This of course at the expense of some professional colleagues. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga explains how this scenario affects the mind and body.
Imagine that you have been among the best in your field for years, but you always miss your big goal. This is because fate brought you together with the three best tennis players of all time. This is what happens to some professionals on the tour who would easily have won a Grand Slam tournament in another era.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is definitely one of these unlucky ones. The 35-year-old is running out of time – he threatens to go down in tennis history as “unfinished”. A painful stain in the book of a top player. A small consolation for Tsonga: Other tennis players were (or are still currently) in a similar situation.
The sympathetic Frenchman from Le Mans (now Vaudois by choice) admitted in the program “Deep Talk” with compatriot Arnaud Di Pasquale – himself a former player – that he would rather not play against Roger Federer (20 Grand Slam titles), Rafael Nadal (20) or Novak Djokovic (17) would have started. “Honestly. I would have loved it if it hadn’t been for all of them », laughs Tsonga. They are simply “monsters”.
No wonder, after all, the three have cleared a total of 57 Grand Slams titles. The competition was left behind. «You are number 5 in the world (its best ranking – d. Editor) and you think that you would be fine if it weren’t for it. But honestly, it’s also a source of pride. Some people come up to me and ask me if I played against Federer. I then tell them: ‘Yes, yes, it was tough and I even won a couple of times.’ Then that’s the pride. The same with Rafa, Novak or Murray. “
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Tsonga has made it into a major quarter-final eight times in his impressive career, five times in the top four and once (Australian Open 2008) even in the final. He also reached the final at the ATP Finals (2011). In addition, he won two major 1000 Masters tournaments in Toronto and Paris.
In Canada in 2014, for example, he managed the hussar piece of eliminating several top-class players with Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Grigor Dimitrov and most recently Roger Federer. A mental effort: “Sometimes you get discouraged. You will see one of them in the second round, one in the quarter-finals, one in the semi-finals, and one in the final. Then you think if I get out of there alive it’s a miracle. I did it in Toronto – and it only went over two sets of wins. “
“Blood in the urine”
It is also incredibly draining physically, as the all-rounder reveals. «I had blood in my urine after the final against Federer. I called the doctor to ask if this was normal. Muscle fibers that are found in urine are apparently broken down when fatigued. ” His conclusion: “All that to be able to say afterwards that you are proud to have played against these guys.”
The crowd favorite, which is welcomed everywhere, can only be found in 60th place in the world rankings. Last year he only played two games, the last of which at the Australian Open, where he had to give up in the first round due to back problems. He will skip Melbourne this year and plans to come back for the start of the European indoor tournaments at the end of February. He does not want to know anything about a resignation.
