Would Tsonga have been in Djokovic's position had he won AO 2008?

Razoredge

Banned
What do you guys think? If Tsonga had won and Djokovic didn't would he have went on to accomplish better things than he has so far? More slams, number 1, etc?

I think that final might've been more important than we think..
 

kishnabe

Talk Tennis Guru
Djokovic would still acomplish a lot after than.

Tsonga would still be a mental foolery at times.
 
that's a good question, hmmm idk Djoko's really talented, but getting that slam would have no doubt given much confidence to Tsonga
 
D

Deleted member 307496

Guest
Tsonga would plateau at a ranking of about #4 had he won the 2008 Australian Open. He wouldn't win any more slams after it.
 
What do you guys think? If Tsonga had won and Djokovic didn't would he have went on to accomplish better things than he has so far? More slams, number 1, etc?

I think that final might've been more important than we think..

didn't tsonga have a lot of bad injuries early in his career? I think this is one of his biggest problems. he does have the talent but he is kinda injury prone. what really makes a player better is being able to train and play for years without an injury break. that way you can improve all the time.

He would still have those injuries had he won that final (see DP who also won at didn't went on to dominate as did safin who also was a young winner). an early slam win is no guarantee for success although it does boost confidence.

however in the last two years he really managed to stay healthy which helped his game a lot. he is probably not going to win a slam as the big 4 are so good but he did raise his level of play and consistency. if he manages to stay healthy and fit he might have a chance claiming the 5th spot.
 
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NadalAgassi

Guest
No. He would just forever be something he probably wont ever be now. A slam champion. He never had the consistency or mental toughness to be anything more than what he has settled into, a streaky dangerous spoiler, capable of a top 10 ranking and slam semifinal, maybe the very rare finals, runs.
 
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NadalAgassi

Guest
Djokovic didnt even go on a tear after winning there, so why would anyone assume Tsonga who isnt as good or stable a player as Djokovic is going on one.
 
D

Deleted member 307496

Guest
Djokovic didnt even go on a tear after winning there, so why would anyone assume Tsonga who isnt as good or stable a player as Djokovic is going on one.
Djokovic improved on his results from 2007, winning a slam and being consistent through out the year. In 2008, Djokovic had a chance to end the year at #2, being basically tied with Federer for that spot.

Tsonga would win a slam and be very inconsistent afterwards. I see him as a player who wins a slam, gets ranked somewhere around #4, then enters the next year as that seed and falls in the 3rd or 4th round to somebody ranked #15-30. Nowhere near as good as Djokovic.
 

Mustard

Bionic Poster
No. Djokovic would always be a more consistent player than Tsonga. Tsonga could have won the 2008 Australian Open, though. In the first set, Tsonga carried on where he had left off in crushing Nadal in the semi finals. The next 3 sets were very different.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
Yeah 3 years later. He certainly didnt start taking over tennis or racking up the slams soon after his breakthrough slam win.

He did go on to win the 2008 WTF and 2 more Masters that year (IW and Rome) and narrowly lost in the final of Cincinnati but it's true that winning his first Slam didn't herald any surge of dominance for Djokovic. Federer and Nadal remained the two top players for the next 3 years and Djokovic didn't even make another Slam final until 2010 USO, 2 years and 8 months after winning his maiden Slam at 2008 AO.

However after reaching his 2nd Slam final (2010 USO) since winning 2008 AO, Djokovic went on his roll and has made no less than 6 out of the 8 Slam finals played since then, winning 4 of them. It was that 2nd Slam final appearance after winning his 1st Slam, even though he lost, that seems to have been the trigger that propelled him to his present dominance of the men's tour!
 
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Mainad

Bionic Poster
It's difficult to know with Tsonga. Had he won his maiden Slam at 2008 AO, it might have given him the confidence he needed to go on a roll and surge to the top of the rankings and win a few more.

Then again, since winning his maiden Masters title in Paris at the end of that year, he hasn't won another.

He just doesn't seem to be consistent enough, mentally or physically.
 

Sid_Vicious

G.O.A.T.
He did go on to win the 2008 WTF and 2 more Masters that year (IW and Rome) and narrowly lost in the final of Cincinnati but it's true that winning his first Slam didn't herald any surge of dominance for Djokovic. Federer and Nadal remained the two top players for the next 3 years and Djokovic didn't even make another Slam final until 2010 USO, 2 years and 8 months after winning his maiden Slam at 2008 AO.

However after reaching his 2nd Slam final (2010 USO), Djokovic went on his roll and has made no less than 6 out of the 8 Slam finals played since then, winning 4 of them. It was that 2nd Slam final appearance, even though he lost, that seems to have been the trigger that propelled him to his present dominance of the men's tour!

It was actually his 3rd slam final appearance.

USO 2007, AO 2008 (Won), USO 2010....
 

tennisaddict

Bionic Poster
Tsonga would have been just like Delpo. It is not that Tsonga has been knocking on semis and finals of majors since that time.
 

90's Clay

Banned
Tsonga is a headcasing underachiever.. Djoker turned his mentality and fitness around and made the necessary adjustments into becoming an all time great.. He developed a CHAMPION'S mentality

Tsonga didn't have the ability
 

Blocker

Professional
Who knows what would have happened? Some times winning a match, especially a slam final, can change your life. Tsonga is talented, he's just inconsistent. He reminds me alot of Leconte. Had Tsonga won that AO final, it would have been back to back wins against Nadal and Djok, no mean feat. He may have had the belief and attitude change to strive for greatness. That final could have been a back to the future moment, where it changed the course of his destiny. But we'll never know.
 

Towser83

G.O.A.T.
Yes, of course. I should have said 2nd Slam final since winning 2008 AO!

The US Open 2010? it wasn't though, it was his first since winning the AO 2008.

First ever was US Open 2007, 2ndwas AO 2008, then US Open 2010, so it was the first since the AO.
 

abmk

Bionic Poster
no, but he'd probably have enough confidence to go on and win another slam, maybe @ the AO or at wimbledon ...
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
What do you guys think? If Tsonga had won and Djokovic didn't would he have went on to accomplish better things than he has so far? More slams, number 1, etc?

I think that final might've been more important than we think..

In one word? NO!
 

bluetrain4

G.O.A.T.
I don't think so. Tsonga's high level is pretty high, but he usually can't sustain it over matches or tournaments. Simply, he's inconsistent. If he would have won the 2008 AO, I don't think he'd win as many Slams as Djoker, but I could believe he might add a second Slam simply due to having the confidence of knowing he can actually close one out. And he might have better runs in Slams than he has had (basically more SFs and QFs, maybe another final).
 

cork_screw

Hall of Fame
What do you guys think? If Tsonga had won and Djokovic didn't would he have went on to accomplish better things than he has so far? More slams, number 1, etc?

I think that final might've been more important than we think..


No, no no.

This isn't acting. Tsonga isn't Meghan Fox, and if she never landed Transformers, she probably wouldn't have the type of success she's having now. There's your analogy.

Dear god, why are people writing threads like this where you compare future accomplishments to past results. Tsonga also doesn't have a diary where he laments about how much that loss has affected him to the point where he can't win anything or achieve anything now. What he can get, he gets. Where he can't achieve is what he puts into it. This thread is a serious eye roll. Why are people writing stuff like this. No college education here?
 
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D

Deleted member 307496

Guest
no, but he'd probably have enough confidence to go on and win another slam, maybe @ the AO or at wimbledon ...
Wimbledon would be almost impossible for Tsonga to win.
 

tacou

G.O.A.T.
I don't know about Tsonga, but Djokovic took 3 years to win another major. Who knows how much pressure he would have felt going into 2011 without a slam, DC and diet be damned?

Same with Tsonga, people are writing him off too easily. Since that final he has been in the second week of a slam 9 times, including 3 semi finals. With the confidence of a slam under his belt, he may have at least advanced to a couple more finals.

However Jo missed FO and Wimby 2008 so maybe he would have regressed anyways.
 

Gonzo_style

Hall of Fame
No he is not enough consistent, Tsonga can destroy Nadal, but on another day Martin Klizan can beat him easily.
 
D

Deleted member 307496

Guest
No he is not enough consistent, Tsonga can destroy Nadal, but on another day Martin Klizan can beat him easily.
Martin Klizan is a rising talent, losing to him isn't something to be ashamed of.
 

TennisLovaLova

Hall of Fame
the problem with french players in general is:
- bad influence of the french tennis federation,
- negative behaviour of the french media

When you're great, they love you
when you lose, they burn you

when tsonga reached the AO final, they were like "finally, a new hope"
then just after he lost: "he should lose weight, he's fat, there's no hope, blablabla"
And the federation is here just to suck their momentum and ruin them, it works like the Communist PArty in CHina
It happens all the time with french players: grosjean, gasquet,etc etc
 

Gonzo_style

Hall of Fame
the problem with french players in general is:
- bad influence of the french tennis federation,
- negative behaviour of the french media

When you're great, they love you
when you lose, they burn you

when tsonga reached the AO final, they were like "finally, a new hope"
then just after he lost: "he should lose weight, he's fat, there's no hope, blablabla"
And the federation is here just to suck their momentum and ruin them, it works like the Communist PArty in CHina
It happens all the time with french players: grosjean, gasquet,etc etc

Seems that they expect too much from players and thus put a lot of pressure on them.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
It's funny to think that Tsonga could have won that title given that he had just crushed Nadal in the semis 2,3 & 2 and took the 1st set against Djokovic in the final.

Both he and Djokovic were playing for their 1st Slam title although, unlike Tsonga, Djokovic had already played his 1st Slam final just 4 months earlier at the USO. Had he pulled it off, Tsonga would have been the first unseeded player to win a Slam since Gaudio at the 2004 FO.

In the end, I guess Djokovic just wanted it that little bit more. He was ready for it. Tsonga maybe not as much.

Interesting though that it would be more than 2 and a half years before Djokovic reached another Slam final (2010 USO) whereas Tsonga has yet to reach another! Evidently that 2008 AO final must have been a bit of a draining experience for them both!
 
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NadalAgassi

Guest
Djokovic seemed to many people to be the heir apparent to #1 as early as early 2008 when he won that Australian Open so convincingly. However it turned out to be Nadal owning most of the next 3 years with Federer as his main rival. What he did in 2011 was what many were expecting him to do years sooner, but he wasnt ready for it it turned out. I dont think anyone thought Tsonga was tennis's next big thing, win or lose there. It was one of those lightning in a bottle kind of runs, and one could sense even then it was probably now or never for him.
 
D

Deleted member 307496

Guest
Djokovic seemed to many people to be the heir apparent to #1 as early as early 2008 when he won that Australian Open so convincingly. However it turned out to be Nadal owning most of the next 3 years with Federer as his main rival. What he did in 2011 was what many were expecting him to do years sooner, but he wasnt ready for it it turned out. I dont think anyone thought Tsonga was tennis's next big thing, win or lose there. It was one of those lightning in a bottle kind of runs, and one could sense even then it was probably now or never for him.
You could tell Djokovic was going to go on and do great things, being ranked #3 in the world at just 20 years old and having already had a close final against Federer. Then he goes on and wins the Australian Open, losing only one set on the way.

Tsonga was an unseeded 22 year old French player on a huge winning streak. He wasn't going to go on to be #1 or win any other slams, so in essense, you're correct.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
Djokovic seemed to many people to be the heir apparent to #1 as early as early 2008 when he won that Australian Open so convincingly. However it turned out to be Nadal owning most of the next 3 years with Federer as his main rival. What he did in 2011 was what many were expecting him to do years sooner, but he wasnt ready for it it turned out. I dont think anyone thought Tsonga was tennis's next big thing, win or lose there. It was one of those lightning in a bottle kind of runs, and one could sense even then it was probably now or never for him.

There are plenty of people on here who still think Tsonga is going to be the next best thing! :)

For the next 3 years, it seemed like Djokovic's 2008 win was going to be lightening in a bottle too! He didn't actually do too much wrong in the remainder of that year. He won the WTF and 2 Masters titles and he ended each year still ranked #3. But it's bit strange that he made no more Slam finals until 2010 USO. He won only one biggish title in 2009 and none at all in 2010. 2011 was truly his 2nd breakout year after the promising start of 2008!
 
D

Deleted member 307496

Guest
There are plenty of people on here who still think Tsonga is going to be the next best thing! :)

For the next 3 years, it seemed like Djokovic's 2008 win was going to be lightening in a bottle too! He didn't actually do too much wrong in the remainder of that year. He won the WTF and 2 Masters titles and he ended each year still ranked #3. But it's bit strange that he made no more Slam finals until 2010 USO. He won only one biggish title in 2009 and none at all in 2010. 2011 was truly his 2nd breakthrough year after the promising start of 2008!
He was actually five points off ending the year at #2 in 2008. When you look at 2009, he had a big dip in terms of points and held a mediocre lead on his #3 ranking. By 2010, he was fighting tooth and nail to get the #2 spot. He ended the year at #3, just ahead of Murray who was only a few hundred points behind him. In 2011, that all changed.
 
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