Jo-Wilfried Tsonga exclusively in Legend’s Voice: “I got bogged down in the final against Djokovic”

Last year Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ended his career at the French Open in Paris. It was a highly emotional experience for the Frenchman to play in front of his compatriots for the last time.

For 18 years, Tsonga wowed tennis fans on the ATP Tour with his spectacular style of play and sunny disposition. He won 18 singles and four doubles titles. In February 2012 he reached his best place in the world rankings with fourth place.

However, he was denied a Grand Slam title. Tsonga came closest at the 2008 Australian Open when he faced Novak Djokovic in the final. Djokovic won in four sets and won his first of 21 Grand Slam titles to date.

In the Eurosport series Legend’s Voice, Tsonga looks back on his incredible journey in Melbourne in 2008.

Von Jo-Wilfried English

Hello dear tennis friends,

I don’t have this one image in my head of the Australian Open 2008, but many. The first images that come to mind are of the prep. I arrived in Melbourne very early, almost a month before the tournament. I remember many conversations with my coaches and also matches. In Sydney I won the doubles final with Richard Gasquet against the Bryan brothers.

Before the start of the Australian Open I was very confident. I felt physically strong and unconcerned. The stars were in my favour; I was determined to do well. To be honest, I even thought I could win the tournament. Of course, if I had shouted that from the rooftops, I would have been laughed at. But it was my deep conviction. What makes a great champion is the belief that anything is possible.

‘I couldn’t do anything wrong in the semifinals against Nadal’

In the first round I beat Andy Murray. I was clearly an outsider against a player from the top 10. It was a tough fight, in the end we both had cramps. Of course, beating Murray gave me a boost for the rest of the tournament. In the second and third round the games were a bit easier, but then came the round of 16 against Gasquet. For me he was the best player from France at that time. I won in four hard-fought sets.

In the quarterfinals, Mikhail Youzhny was my opponent. Nobody talks about this match, but it was my best performance of the tournament. Mikhail was in great shape; at the preparatory tournament in Doha he had beaten Rafael Nadal 6: 1, 6: 0. It was a “ping pong” match because it was constantly going back and forth. This game opened my eyes. I was able to play at maximum intensity continuously for three hours.

The semi-final against Nadal? I felt like I couldn’t do anything wrong that day. I had this unconscious of the moment that made me do things that I couldn’t have done consciously and could never have repeated. I was throwing incredible punches and I was like, ‘What’s going on here? I play perfect tennis, I’m unstoppable. Here I am – I’m in the final.’ It’s like the Holy Grail for a tennis player.

“I got a bit bogged down in the final against Djokovic”

Grand Slam quarterfinals, semifinals, finals – it was always the first time for me. Emotionally, it was a different burden for me than for my opponent Novak Djokovic. He had already played a Grand Slam final. I, on the other hand, fell on the pitch after winning the rounds before and I kept thinking, ‘Now this is the best day of my life.’

Novak has had this feeling before. He was a top 10 player, Masters 1000 winner and had several big matches at the Grand Slams. He was used to it – I wasn’t.

I started very well and won the first set, I got a break in the second set. After that I got a bit caught up in my emotions. I had my chances to win this final. It was details that prevented me from doing so. I don’t know why, but I was influenced by things that weren’t directly related to the match. I got a little bogged down.

But with Novak’s 21 titles in Grand Slam tournaments, you also have to put things into perspective. Especially in Australia he was so often unbeatable.

“The presence of my parents drained my energy”

My parents came all the way from France for the final. They sat on the plane for 24 hours – crazy. I come from a modest family with three children. My parents drove me 300, 400 kilometers to the tournaments on the weekends. You sacrificed a lot of time for me – even compared to my brother and sister.

Maybe her presence at the finale was a bit too emotional for me. It took some of my strength, some of my energy. Today I might say to them, ‘Mom, Dad, please stay home, I’m going to win this game and bring the trophy home.’ We’ll never know if it really had an impact on the final, but I would probably do it differently today.

Nevertheless, this final helped me for my future career. The experience was golden. At the end of the year I won the Masters 1000 in Paris, where I also defeated Djokovic. The defeat in the final in Melbourne kept me busy for a long time. I kept asking myself, ‘why did I lose that match to Novak when I beat him five times in a row afterwards?’

You never stop thinking. You fall, you get up, you keep going – it’s part of the player’s career. This finale is part of mine. I was still very young and it was an extraordinary journey. I lived my dream.

Euer Jo-Wilfried Tsonga