Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova may be the 2008 Australian Open champions but the tournament
belonged, in many respects, to the so-called Muhammad Ali of tennis, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The Frenchman's
demolition of world number two Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals fired the imagination of the sporting
public and propelled him into the folklore of grand slam tennis.
Tsonga started his 2008 giant-killing spree at the Sydney Medibank International when he teamed up
with Richard Gasquet and the pair posted a major upset over world number one duo Bob and Mike Bryan in the
doubles final. He went into the Australian Open ranked 38, unseeded and unfancied to even get past
the first round where he encountered ninth seed Andy Murray. "It is just amazing, unbelievable," he
said after stunning Nadal. "Nothing could stop me today. I tried to hit everything and everything went
in, so what can I say? I was moving on the court like never I move. Everything was perfect."
Employing a varied artillery of explosive serves, intimidating net rushes and disarming drop volleys,
he simply had too much game for the Spaniard. The support he garnered during the course of the fortnight almost
swept him to the title as Djokovic acknowledged after the final. "I know the crowd wanted him to win
more," the Serb teased the crowd at the trophy presentation. "That's okay, it's all right. I still love
you guys. Don't worry."
A striking physical resemblance to the boxing legend prompted players on the ATP tour to nickname
Tsonga the Muhammad Ali of tennis. "Ali is one of my heroes," he says. "I liked him for his personality
so I'm happy to be compared to him - it's an honour." Tsonga's father, Didier, was present at the famous
1974 "Rumble in The Jungle" fight in the former Zaire between Ali and George Foreman. "My father was at
the fight at Kinshasa because he's from Brazzaville," Tsonga told reporters in Melbourne. "He took some
photos, so I have some souvenirs."
Hampered by back, shoulder and knee injuries for a couple of years, Tsonga has actually had a difficult
and frustrating start to his senior career. He had been very successful as a junior, overcoming Marcos Baghdatis
in the final of the 2003 US Open juniors. He also reached the semi-finals at three other Grand Slam events.
Finishing 2003 as No. 2 in the world junior rankings (behind Baghdatis), Tsonga was more than ready to
test the waters on the senior circuit. In his first ATP event in Beijing in 2004, he announced himself
with a defeat of Carlos Moya, then ranked fifth in the world. The injuries struck at the end of that year.
In January 2007 he made some headlines when he featured in the longest tiebreaker in Australian Open history,
taking the opening set (20-18) against sixth seed Andy Roddick only to lose 6-7 7-6 6-3 6-3.
Coached by countryman and former ATP pro Eric Winogradsky, Tsonga credits his father (a former handball
player) for his strength and his mother for his kindness. Muhammad Ali himself once said: "At home I am a
nice guy: but I don't want the world to know. Humble people, I've found, don't get very far." There will be
a time and a place for Tsonga to be Mister Nice Guy. In the meantime his opponents can expect him to sting
like a bee.
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