Emmanuel LANGELLIER, Media365: published on Thursday March 17, 2022 at 09:58
Fallen very low in the standings, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could be invited to participate in the next Roland-Garros.
On Wednesday, the 2022 edition of Roland-Garros was presented. Gilles Moretton, the president of the French Tennis Federation, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the general manager of the FFT, and Amélie Mauresmo, the new director of Roland-Garros after having succeeded Guy Forget, were out to discuss the next tournament which will be held from May 22 to June 5. Many topics were discussed by the three leaders. In particular, there was the appearance of the super tie-break in the 5th set (in ten points at 6-6) which will therefore now be in place in the four Grand Slam tournaments.
The super tie-break, the empty places, Djokovic and Tsonga
Novak Djokovic’s possible participation and empty spots were also discussed. In addition to the presence of the Serb, who will recover the place of world number 1 next Monday following the elimination in the 3rd round of the Indian Wells Masters 1000 of Daniil Medvedev (beaten by Gaël Monfils), another big name in the little yellow ball was mentioned. That of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Currently 215th in the ATP rankings after experiencing physical problems, the Frenchman cannot participate in Roland-Garros for the moment.
A possible request from Tsonga “would obviously be taken into consideration”
But as at the next Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo, the 36-year-old could be invited. At the start of the season, at the Australian Open, the FFT granted the wild card to Lucas Pouille despite Tsonga’s request. Gilles Moretton broached the subject. “To come back to the Australian Open, I had a debate with him and Lucas Pouille was also in the running. Jo’s record is incommensurably greater than that of many other French players. Lucas is younger, he is now in the middle of his career, while Jo is more at the end of his career. If Jo were to request a wild card for Roland-Garros, of course we would take it into consideration. We cannot answer definitively today. We also have Stanislas Wawrinka who asked for a wild card, but that of Jo would obviously be taken into consideration, ”said the boss of Roland-Garros. In 11 appearances, Tsonga reached the semi-finals twice (2013 and 2015) and the quarter-finals in 2012 at the French Open.
