Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: the find of AO 2008 - 法網 Tennis

這篇報導把去年起個關鍵比賽拿出來複習，在Tsonga過去缺席的新朋友可以看看XD

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: the find of AO 2008
Tuesday, 22 January, 2008
By Matthew Trollope
http://www.australianopen.com

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is proving to be the giant-killer of Australian Open 2008.

In a tournament that has become notorious for throwing up unexpected men's
finalists, there's every chance the athletic Frenchman could be taking to
the court on the final Sunday night given his current form.

Tsonga began his Melbourne campaign with an upset win over the highly-fancied
No.9 seed Andy Murray in the opening round on Rod Laver Arena.

"(It's) so good because it's my first win here, so I'm just happy it was on
the Rod Laver (Arena). It was just nice. I don't know what to say about that.
Unbelievable," he reflected after the match.

Next up were straight-set victories over Sam Warburg and Guillermo
Garcia-Lopez, which saw Tsonga reach the fourth round.

There he met friend and No.8 seed Richard Gasquet on Rod Laver Arena, and
gained revenge for his loss at Wimbledon last year to his countryman with
a four set victory.

"Yeah, I'm very comfortable on this arena. Every time when I played, it was
full, so there is a very good atmosphere, and I feel very good on this court,
yeah," Tsonga said.

So just who is this player who draws countless physical comparisons with
Muhammad Ali?

Beginning 2007 ranked No.212 and playing predominantly on the challenger
circuit in the first half of the year, Tsonga first came to prominence
with a straight-sets win over Lleyton Hewitt at the Queen's Club event,
the traditional lead-up tournament to Wimbledon.

The win was especially significant given the Australian's record at Queen's -
Hewitt had won the title four times, including three consecutive years
between 2000 and 2002.

Just two weeks later, the Frenchman broke into the top 100 on the back
of an impressive fourth-round showing at Wimbledon.

There he dispatched of three higher-ranked opponents in straight sets
before being defeated by Gasquet.

From that point, Tsonga was able to enter ATP level events on a regular
basis, and with his newfound confidence his ranking continued to soar.

A third-round result at the US Open, a quarterfinal finish at Metz and a
semi final appearance in Lyon sent his ranking into the top 50. He finished
the year ranked 43.

He continued where he left off in 2008, defeating Hewitt - again in straight
sets - in Adelaide before his stunning run at Melbourne Park.

Following this fortnight, Tsonga, who is now the World No.38, is set to
scale higher still.

He's clearly comfortable with his developing status - not once has he seemed
to buckle under the pressure of the growing expectation and notoriety placed
upon him these past two weeks.

It seems Tsonga is simply enjoying the chance to make up for lost time.

From 2004 until last year, his promising career was stalled by recurring
injuries to his shoulder, back and abdominal area; and during that time
he also suffered from a herniated disc.

The Frenchman now faces No.14 seed Mikhail Youzhny in his first ever Grand
Slam quarterfinal. It will be played on his beloved Rod Laver Arena, and he
is content to just enjoy the ride.

Speaking in endearingly-muddled English, Tsonga spoke of the upcoming
battle:

"Yeah, I'm very exciting, because it's my best results for the moment.
I'm very exciting," he said.

"But I want to see far, and I have a quarterfinal to play. And I'm just
exciting to play this quarterfinal. So I will do my best, and I will take
fun and I will see after?"

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