Former world number 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will retire at the next Roland Garros. The French veteran will bid farewell to tennis at his home Major, battling injuries in recent years and not wanting to further strain his body. Jo-Wilfried is currently ranked 220th, and is aware that he will not be able to climb back into the top-20 or top-30, as he will be 37 in ten days. Supported by his family, Tsonga has decided to leave his beloved sport and start a new chapter of his life off the court, already running a tennis structure. Jo-Wilfried has recorded 121 wins at Majors and as many at the Masters 1000 level, losing to Novak Djokovic in the 2008 Australian Open final and claiming two Masters 1000 crowns. Tsonga has won 18 ATP titles in 30 finals and two notable trophies for his country, the Davis Cup and the Hopman Cup. Known as one of the most formidable opponents when his game is on, Tsonga has to his credit 45 wins against the top 10 and 16 wins over Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Jo-Wilfried suffered a terrible knee injury in Montpellier in February 2018, dropping out of the top-100 eight months later. Starting over in early 2019, Tsonga reached the Brisbane semi-final and conquered Montpellier, the same event that ruined his career 12 months earlier. After Lyon and Roland Garros, Tsonga scored four wins on grass before the low-key North American hard-court tour.
Clarey talks about King Roger
In an interview with Tennis Deutschland, Clarey spoke about how far Roger Federer has come in his career and how the success he has achieved hasn’t changed the person that he is. “I don’t presume to know how he developed personally. I’m not his friend, not a family member. An interview is an interview. Here he is very pleasant, very open. He hasn’t changed at all in certain areas – even if he has become a billionaire in the meantime (laughs). He always asks questions. My first conversation in 2001 was less of an interview and more of a conversation. And in 2019, the last time I spoke to him, it was the same,” Clarey said. Christopher Clarey thinks Roger Federer believes he can win another Major as he was very close to winning one at the 2019 Wimbledon, where he had two match points againstĀ Novak DjokovicĀ after beatingĀ Rafael NadalĀ in the semifinals. “When Roger was last healthy, he was only one point away from winning Wimbledon ā one point! I think he expects to have another good chance. Sure, on paper it didn’t look bad in 2021, he was in the quarterfinals at the age of 39,” Clarey said. Personally, I don’t think he’ll get any further than before, I think there are too many players in the way. But why should Roger think so?”