Why Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was always dangerous and nothing more

[luvsports!]

Does he have a shot against Djokovic?

https://www.theroar.com.au/2019/01/17/why-jo-wilfried-tsonga-was-always-dangerous-and-nothing-more/

 

[Moxie]

You're very prolific these days. Not an unfair assessment of Tsonga's play. He's also been injured a lot, it's fair to say.

 

[luvsports!]

True, he has had his fair share of injuries.
That's what freelancing does to you, Moxie!

 

[Moxie]

True, he has had his fair share of injuries.
That's what freelancing does to you, Moxie!

Freelancing?

 

[luvsports!]

Paid work for the website you see linked here.

 

[britbox]

Wow, 11 years since that AO. At the time, particularly after that flawless semi against Nadal, I thought Tsonga was going to be a real headline force in the sport.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Wow, 11 years since that AO. At the time, particularly after that flawless semi against Nadal, I thought Tsonga was going to be a real headline force in the sport.

Yeah, and it reminds me a bit of the Kyrgios debate in the other thread. Sometimes these young guys (I don't even think Jo was THAT young when he beat Nadal, he was like 22, but it was his coming out party) put on an out of this world performance against an elite player at the big stage and we think "OK, even if it's not his 'real' level per se, if he plays consistently at 75% of this, he'll be great." I was also guilty of thinking Tsonga was a sure-fire can't miss force to be reckoned with at the time (less so with Kyrgios when he beat Nadal because A) I had learned my lesson and B) Tsonga genuinely looked more impressive IMO). He seemed to have it all: A great serve, huge forehand, athleticism, movement, a shaky but still big backhand (I underestimated how flawed it would be) and an out of this world touch around the net. Some of the volleys he was hitting against Nadal...I've literally never seen anything like it since, especially off of the kind of passing shots Nadal was hitting.

He still turned out to be a perennial top 10 player for a while, so it's unfair to cast him as some underachiever, but he definitely never came close to reaching that level again. I still think he's had a pretty solid career. It's harsh to drown these guys with expectations then hold it over their heads. Not everyone is a Djokovic, Nadal, etc... Hell, most aren't even Cilic.

 

[Moxie]

I have likewise tried to make these two threads speak to each other. I think it's apt. It's great to have your tennis IQ back in the conversation, @brokenshoelace.

 

[AnonymousFan]

Unfortunate but true. Thanks for sharing. Agree w/ broken about Kyrgios being a new era Tsonga