World number 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has had a successful season on the ATP World Tour in 2017. However, the charismatic Frenchman would have liked to have had a Grand Slam singles title in his cabinet after reaching his solitary Slam final at the Australian Open in 2008 when he lost to Novak Djokovic. Nonetheless, the 32-year-old has become a father in March, and his priorities may have changed but he still determined to make the most out of his career. Tsonga will be hoping to bring some more smiles to the French crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier at this year's French Open.
Notable results to date
The Frenchman has a 17-5 win-loss record on tour, and he began his preparations for the Australian Open in Doha. He defeated Andrey Kuznetsov and Dustin Brown in his opening two rounds before losing to Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals. The 2008 Australian Open returned to the Australian Open looking for another deep run. He defeated clay-courter Thiago Monteiro in four sets in his first round match. He routinely defeated Dusan Lajovic in the second round, and he defeated Jack Sock in another four-set match in the third round. However, Tsonga dropped the opening set in his fourth round clash with Britain's Dan Evans. Nevertheless, the Frenchman recovered to down the Brit in four sets and reach the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the fifth time in his career. In Tsonga's third consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, he lost to 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka in straight sets.
Despite losing to Alexander Zverev in the semifinals in Montpellier in three sets, Tsonga embarked on a nine-match winning streak. He claimed back-to-back titles in Rotterdam and his third title in Marseille defeating David Goffin and Lucas Pouille in both finals respectively. However, his streak was ended at the hands of Fabio Fognini in his first match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The Frenchman withdrew from the Miami Open as the arrival of his first child was imminent.
Clay Court results leading up to Roland Garros
The new father on tour returned to the clay courts at the Monte Carlo Masters. Tsonga's clay court campaign got off to a bad start as he lost to compatriot Adrian Mannarino in three sets, despite claiming the opening set. Once again, the Frenchman had another war of attrition clash in the first round of the Mutua Madrid Open. The 2008 Australian Open finalist dispatched Andrey Kuznetsov, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 7-5. However, he was due to play David Ferrer in a mouthwatering second round clash at the Caja Magica. Moreover, Tsonga withdrew due to a right shoulder injury. The world number 13 skipped the third and final Masters 1000 tournament on clay at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. Furthermore, he has returned at the new ATP World Tour 250 event in Lyon. He received a bye in the first round and defeated Carlos Berlocq and Karen Khachanov. He is due to face Nikoloz Basilashvili for a place in the final.
Best French Open result
The charismatic Frenchman is a two-time semifinalist at Roland Garros. He achieved that twice in three years at the 2013 and 2015 editions of the second Grand Slam singles tournament of the year.
Tsonga entered the 2013 French Open as the sixth seed. Clay is his weakest surface as his results have been better on grass and hard courts. Nonetheless, Tsonga cruised past Aljaz Bedene and Jarkko Nieminen in his opening two matches without losing a set. Tsonga eased past compatriot Jeremy Chardy, and Viktor Troicki in the fourth round to reach the quarterfinals for the first time. In the quarterfinals, Tsonga was up against 2009 winner Roger Federer. Furthermore, Tsonga was in scintillating form and cruised past the former world number one, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 to reach his first semifinal at the French Open. However, the Frenchman was unable to overcome David Ferrer, 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-2 which would have been a missed opportunity for the Frenchman to reach the final in front of his home crowd.
The big-hitting Frenchman entered the 2015 French Open as the 14th seed. He had little problems with Swedish qualifier Christian Lindell, Dudi Sela and Pablo Andujar in his opening three matches. Tsonga didn't drop a set in those three encounters and in the fourth round, he had a mouthwatering clash with fellow big-hitter and fourth seed Tomas Berdych. Tsonga defeated Berdych, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals in Paris for the second time in three years. Tsonga had a five-set thriller in the quarterfinals with 2014 US Open finalist Kei Nishikori. France's number one male tennis player defeated Nishikori, 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 to reach his second French Open semifinal in three years. Once again, he was unable to reach his first final in the Parisian city as he lost to eventual champion Stan Wawrinka in four sets.
How Tsonga's game translates to the surface
The former world number five likes to dictate play from the baseline, as he likes to play attacking tennis. However, the Frenchman is quite speedy and doesn't hesitate to come to the net to finish off the points. Sometimes, he employs a serve and volley tactic which catches some of his opponents off guard. Tsonga's backhand is one of the weakest aspects of his game, and players would try to attack his backhand side. His forehand is stronger and can cause a lot of players some problems. Tsonga has struggled on clay in the past, Furthermore, he reached the semifinals in 2013 and 2015, along with a quarterfinal finish in 2012.
Tsonga isn't a very good returner like Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic but he is certainly capable of trouble the top players. Tsonga needs to have a good serving day, and his forehand needs to be firing on all cylinders. The Frenchman has won 14 career titles with two of those being Masters 1000 titles. France's number one is a popular player amongst the French spectators, and he will be hoping to bring them some more joy in a fortnight.