An up and down year on the mend for Tsonga
August 28th 2008 00:35
Tsonga is back to make his presence felt at the US Open
After becoming one of the most talked about names in men's Tennis, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga has not had the dominating run many would have predicted after finishing runner-up at the Australian Open this year.
Injury has plagued his progress in 2008 since May but now the the Frenchman is back to perhaps give the US Open one hell of a shake.
His rapid ascent up the rankings halted by a knee injury, No. 19 seed Tsonga of France took to the court yesterday against Spain’s Santiago Ventura for his first professional match since May of this year.
Though he started 2008 in peak form, rolling through the Australian Open as an unseeded entry and defeating four seeded players, including Rafael Nadal in straight sets, on the way, Tsonga was visibly rusty in this match.
“I didn't play really good tennis...I was a bit worried about my knee," the 23-year old French star remarked.
"Of course it is different than before. But I feel good,” Tsonga said of the knee injury that derailed his clay-court season.
In Ventura, he was faced with an opponent with a strong serve and a deft touch around the net who seemed more than willing to take advantage of Tsonga’s long layoff from professional play.
Tsonga’s first serve was inconsistent and his touch evaded him at first, and Ventura, who exhibited strong play and great confidence in his shots, took the first set 7-6 with a commanding performance in the final set’s tiebreaker.
The second set saw Tsonga slowly find his service game, reeling off fierce first serves to win 6-4 and begin to take control of the match.
Scraping the rust from his game with each powerful forehand and every soft volley that fell just beyond Ventura’s reach, Tsonga recaptured his game, began to break his opponent’s serve, and took the match.
On another day, Ventura’s energetic play might have helped him advance. But this was Tsonga’s story and today in the bright sun of the Grandstand at the 2008 US Open, his trip back up the rankings began anew.
With time to rest his knee, Tsonga will take the court again in the next round against the unranked but always dangerous Carlos Moya.
“It is difficult,” Tsonga said of coming back from his injury. “That’s life. Sometimes you are happy and sometimes you are not. I am happy to be back on the court.”
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