By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, May 24, 2023
French hero Jo-Wilfried Tsonga closed the curtain on his glorious career with a four-set loss to Casper Ruud and a spine-tingling ceremony on Court Chatrier.
Photo credit: Getty
Parting can be painful.
Fittingly, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s Roland Garros sendoff was powerfully poignant.
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Tsonga’s family, friends, fellow players and devoted fans stood as one inside a packed Court Philippe Chatrier serenading the retiring French wild card in a rousing extended standing ovation.
Battling valiantly to the end, a pained Tsonga bowed to eighth-seeded Casper Ruud 6-7(6), 7-6(4), 6-2, 7-6(0) in a Roland Garros first-round clash that was Tsonga’s final singles match.
The 37-year-old Frenchman closed the curtain on his brilliant 18-year career with characteristic class, grit and spirit in a moving moment connecting athlete and audience.
"Was just amazing. The way the crowd support me today, they give me the power to fight, and that's what I did," Tsonga said. "Today was a good match for me. Unfortunately I didn't finish the way I want to finish, but I finish on the court, playing like I did all my career, running after the ball.
"Yeah, it was emotional for me. And anyway, it's gonna stay a good moment in my head. Yeah, in a way I finish like I want to finish."
Stricken by right arm and shoulder injuries, Tsonga spent the final tiebreaker shoveling 71 mile-an-hour serves into the box and pushing back tears.
When it was over, Tsonga soaked in the love from the home fans, walked to the center of the court, dropped to his knees and kissed the red clay in a moving farewell. Tsonga arose with a swath of crushed red brick streaking his forehead blowing a kiss to the crowd, while some of his family members, friends and even his conqueror, Ruud, shed some tears.
"I wanted to thank the clay," Tsonga said of his kiss. "The clay of Roland Garros has always been magical for me."
A man who often conjured his most captivating tennis on home soil—Tsonga won 10 of his 18 career titles in France—wore home soil on his head, like a territorial tattoo, in his final singles match.
In some ways, Tsonga's final match was a microcosm of his career: bold shotmaking, stinging injury and a passionate commitment to the cause were all on display.
Scraping through a tough hold to level the fourth set at 5-all. a depleted Tsonga broke Ruud for 6-5 and had a shot to serve out the fourth set and force a decider before his body betrayed him. Tsonga sat on his chair during the changeover at 6-5 the roars of French fans chanting his name echoed in his ears as he tried to keep it together for the final tiebreaker of his singles career.
In a spine-tingling tribute to the former world No. 5 that followed the match, the tournament staged a farewell ceremony that reunited Tsonga with those who aided his journey. Roland Garros brought out every coach Tsonga worked with from childhood to the pros with many wearing "Merci Jo" t-shirts bearing Tsonga's face. Tsonga's parents, Didier and Evelyne, brother Enzo and sister Sarah, joined him on court along with his wife, Noura, and the couple’s two sons, Shugar and Leelow.
Some of Tsonga’s closest friends and former Davis Cup teammates—Gilles Simon, Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet—joined the two-time Roland Garros semifinalist on court.
Watching Tsonga embrace everyone who walked out on court in a show of support after walking alongside him at various points of his amazing tennis adventure was like watching pieces of his career come to life again.
"For me, it was quite moving to see my first coaches on the court," Tsonga said. "Even my parents. They are usually quite discreet, and I know it's not really something that they like, to be seen in front of the crowd.
"Even the boys, Gael said he would come. He told me. He couldn't keep a secret...
"I really enjoyed it. They are all very happy, because I finally managed to cry. Well, it's a moment that is going to be in my memory, but it's so quick when you're in it. It's difficult to live the moment that you're living. My eyes were all over the place. I didn't really know where to go. When I watch the images again afterwards I will be very moved."
Credit Miami Open finalist Ruud for managing his emotions—and the vocal crowd singing Tsonga's name at times—to complete a Merci win over a player he grew up admiring. Ruud paid tribute to Tsonga as an inspiration in his on-court interview.
Speaking to the crowd, Tsonga thanked all for their support and offered a statement of how family, friends and the sport he loves so much shaped his character.
"I'm a black player, I'm a white player," Tsonga said. "I"m a decorated player, I'm a father...Merci Roland Garros."
A video montage of Tsonga’s greatest moments was played on the video screens in Court Chatrier along with heart-felt tributes from Big 4 champions Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. Tsonga, the 2008 Australian Open runner-up to Djokovic, concludes his career 121 career Grand Slam victories, the most of any Frenchman in history.
Elite competition requires risk. Tsonga was seldom shy about letting his shots fly amid Grand Slam pressure.
Tsonga remains only one of three men in history (Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro are the others) to beat each of the Big 3 when they were world No. 1 players. The flashy French shotmaker famously became the first man to fight back from a two-set deficit to defeat Federer in a Grand Slam in the 2011 Wimbledon quarterfinals. Three years later, Tsonga knocked off Djokovic, Murray, Grigor Dimitrov and Federer to win his second Masters crown at the Rogers Cup.
A charismatic, dynamic showman, Tsonga attracted a massive and loyal fan following—and earned respect from his peers for the joy and class he exuded on court.
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Tsonga's passion sometimes turned fans into players. Nick Kyrgios recalled attending the Frenchman’s practices daily as a kid visiting the Australian Open and noted Tsonga stopped to give him an autograph every single time he asked.
During his prime, the man from LeMans commemorated wins with his trademark jumping Jo celebration.
Today, a satisfied Tsonga ended his singles career landing on the site where his Grand Slam career began.
After giving it all in a near four-hour farewell, Tsonga knelt to the clay give gratitude to the crushed red brick surface itself as well as the French fans who road this wondrous career road with him.
"It's adrenaline, to step in on a big court like this one, adrenaline you can feel when you have 15,000 people shouting out your name, supporting you on the court," Tsonga said. "What happened to me is quite unlikely. Physically I was not feeling that good recently, but today, as I said earlier on, today or in the past two or three days, I have been feeling better. And I had not felt like this for a long, long while.
"I think that it's thanks to all of this, that is all these people who support me, and the craze, the passion, the people in the stands. It was pure madness today. One of the best atmospheres I have seen in my career, and it's my last match.
"I couldn't have asked for something better. I couldn't have asked for a better script, apart from the fact that I could have won. Frankly, this is what I'm going to miss is the contact with the crowd. And also with those who have been supporting me for all these years"
There’s life after tennis of course and for Tsonga there’s more tennis ahead in life.
Tsonga, who withdrew from his scheduled doubles match partnering Gasquet, runs his own Academy in France and will remain an ambassador for the sport and some French tournaments.