The 18-time ATP champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is one of the five players who have beaten Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray at least 18 times. Tsonga shares the list with Juan Martin Del Potro, Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych, and Dominic Thiem, who suffer some huge losses for the four legends, but they know how to beat them just as well.
Tsonga won two Masters 1000 trophies, and his collection of notable titles could have been far larger if he had found the way to beat his rivals from above more often. The former world number 5 could have been ranked higher, but it is an honor for him to face such strong opponents over the course of his career that his achievements become even more valuable.
Tsonga will not compete in the upcoming Australian Open, struggling with a persistent injury and skipping the first major of the season. Tsonga had dealt with a lower back injury and decided to quit his duties in mid-September 2020.
In the off-season he hit the practice area and hoped to get back to 100% before 2021. The Frenchman couldn’t win a game in the season behind us, losing to Miomir Kecmanovic in Doha and retiring to Alexei Popyrin in Melbourne.
He hasn’t played since then. The nominee for the ATP Comeback Player of the Year reached 210 positions in the ATP rankings in 2019. In February 2018 he suffered a terrible knee injury in Montpellier and eight months later he was eliminated from the top 100 for the first time in 12 years!
Jo-Wilfried had struggled to find the rhythm in the final weeks of the season after his return and raised his level in early 2019 to reach the Brisbane semi-finals and claim the Montpellier crown.
Tsonga spoke about the greatest rivals of “Fab 4”
Tsonga returned to the top 100 after the Bordeaux Challenger and won two games at Wimbledon, losing in straight sets to Rafael Nadal.
After an early loss at the US Open, Tsonga captured the Cassic Challenger and an ATP title in Metz and secured enough points to crack the top 40 and stay on the recovery path towards the top 20.
Jo-Wilfried reached the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters to be in the top 30 and nominated for Comeback Player of the Year. After a challenging 2020 season, Tsonga is still eager to extend his career and play for notable titles again once he has fully recovered.
“We have to be honest and say that I would have loved it if all these people hadn’t existed. If you’re number 5 in the world, you would have been at the top without these legends. However, the fight against them is also a source of the Proud.
Roger Federer hit me many times, but I hit him too. The same goes for Nadal, Djokovic and Murray. We played in a crazy strong generation, “said Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
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