If he had come at another time, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could have won more titles.
If his body didn’t fail so many times, the same thing could happen. So it was with the most cruel irony that, while he seemed willing to give one last challenging performance, his shoulder fell and he ended his career crying on the beaten floor of Paris.
The crowd cheered when Philippe 37 broke through on the left, leaving the entire defense trailing in his wake.
That his defeat in the first round by 6-7 (8-6), 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 7-6 (7-0) against the Norwegian Casper Ruud, eighth seed, it caused lovelessness, it was strangely appropriate.
The Frenchman, whose career had been hampered by multiple injuries in recent years, struggled for nearly four hours before crying.
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However, during one part of the match, the young Tsonga was seen, the man who beat all three greats of tennis when they were at the head of the world, such was his talent that he defeated Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. when each was the world number one.
And against Ruud, heroism once again seemed possible for the 2008 Australian Open runner-up, no matter if he hadn’t won a clay court match in almost three years, ranked 297th in the world and played against a clay specialist.
The match started in front of a small crowd, as most of the corporate seats were empty at lunchtime, a recurring pattern at Roland Garros, where food often outweighs tennis.
Tsonga stood firm and delighted the fans with some well-executed fall shots while making the most of his rival’s initial nerves.
The volume finally increased as the stands filled up after coffee time and Tsonga packed the initial set after a tense tiebreaker.
He saved break points in the fifth game of the second set, but succumbed under pressure to the tiebreak and looked set to retire quickly after being overwhelmed in the third.
With the support of a lively crowd, however, Tsonga broke the love by 6-5 in the fourth, only because Ruud tied and forced another tiebreaker.
Tsonga carried the physiotherapist for a shoulder problem and could barely turn his arm in the tiebreaker, the pain etched in his face.
Tsonga was clearly in pain while being treated for a shoulder injury. (Reuters: Pascal Rossignol)
Once his ordeal was over, Tsonga, who won the 2017 Davis Cup with France, was greeted on the court by all of his former coaches and parents with a “Merci Jo” T-shirt, as well as his children.
His former Davis Cup teammates Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon, Gael Monfils and Benoit Paire also took to the field to hug him.
“It’s a big day for me. The day I say goodbye to my longtime partner. I’ve never looked back, but now is the time to do it,” Tsonga told the crowd.
“I want to thank all the people who helped me achieve my dream of becoming a professional tennis player.
“Thanks to the French Tennis Federation and all my coaches who supported me even when I was extremely stupid. I managed to be good in the middle of the best generation of players and I’m happy.”
Ruud also paid tribute to Tsonga.
“You’ve been an inspiration to me and many others,” the 23-year-old said.
Tsonga is retiring after winning 18 titles in his career, two at the Masters 1000 level and losing the 2008 Australian Open final to Djokovic 4-6, 6-4.6-3, 7-6 (7-2).
ABC / Reuters
Posted 2 hours ago Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 6:24 PM, last updated 1 hour, 1 hour ago, Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 7:03 PM