What Happened to Tsonga??

[uncooling]

I saw a poll comparing Berdych and Gasquet in terms of talent and potential, but think it would have been more appropriate if we compared Berdych with Tsonga, not Gasquet. Then, I would've chosen the third option- Tsonga having more potential/talent, but Berdych being more successful in today's tennis.

According to many tennis fans including myself, Tsonga was supposed to have a really good year in 2012, reaching a final at AO (and possibly win, as some of you predicted), reach top4 after replacing Andy Murray. But look what happened to him!

I still think he has "potential" to be top4, or reaching a final at AO, but it seems very unlikely bc of his poor game plan, and consistency.

On a good day, he could be ranked Top5 in serve, forehand, backhand, and even volley. But the problem is, he is very incosistent. I don't think his mentality is as weak as Berdych's or Almagro's, but he just can't play well for a complete week.

I hope he becomes more consistent in his shots this year, and that will bring him to top 5, and possibly a SF spot at any slams he enters because I still think and believe he has great potential.


I noticed many of you predicted Delpo will have a strong year this year, giving threat to top 3 guys, but IMO, Tsonga has even more potential than Delpo, especially in today's very slow courts where Delpo can't run for 4-5 hours.

 

[smoledman]

We all thought Tsonga was going to explode in 2012, but it never really happened. 2012 is as good as Tsonga is ever going to be.

 

[uncooling]

We all thought Tsonga was going to explode in 2012, but it never really happened. 2012 is as good as Tsonga is ever going to be.

I think he had better results in 2011, so we might see him play better than 2012 this year, or am I being too naive??

 

[heninfan99]

If I were the head of French tennis I would have sent all the top guys (except for Simon cause he's already a bad ass) into the French Foreign Legion for 6 months. You have to be a serious mofo to battle the likes of Nadal and win. You can't be joking around all the time and lunging & hurling your body around. Tsonga did do the funniest thing ever on court but it's time to become bad ass.

I love the French players, in general they are my fav. to watch. Love the flair but it would be nice to get serious. Gasquet is much tougher now and it's beautiful to see as a fan.

 

[President]

Tsonga's backhand is a pretty terrible shot for a top player, that would always be a weakness on today's slow surfaces. Although I still think he is capable of winning a major.

 

[TheBoom]

Im hoping that Tsonga gets to the final, even if he has to beat my favorite player(novak) to do it. He makes the game so much fun to watch, has lots of talent and I love his charisma. I just wish he would harness his aggressiveness in a bit

 

[Roddick85]

I thought Tsonga was going to come around in 2012 after a pretty good second half in 2011. Perhaps having a coach will help him in 2013, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that. He's 27, I think 2013 is the year he either win a slam or he never will. Del Potro has already passed him in the ranking and I think he stands a better change than Tsonga at challenging the top 4 and bagging a slam.

 

[90's Clay]

Erratic.. Headcase.

 

[The Bawss]

Tsonga is a big French clown. The man will never amount to anything. Fine so he got a decent win in 2008 and another in 2011. Big whoop. He will drop out of the top 10 before the end of the year and you can take that to the bank.

 

[axel89]

Tsonga is a big French clown. The man will never amount to anything. Fine so he got a decent win in 2008 and another in 2011. Big whoop. He will drop out of the top 10 before the end of the year and you can take that to the bank.

aren't you the same clown that said murray will never win a slam?

 

[Timbo's hopeless slice]

Tsonga has that gift of looking unbeatable while still losing, it's unreal..

 

[nadal_GOAT_king]

I'd still put him above Gasquet at finally amounting to something

 

[OHBH]

Tsonga's backhand is a pretty terrible shot for a top player, that would always be a weakness on today's slow surfaces. Although I still think he is capable of winning a major.

Yep, you need to be able to hit winners off both wings to be able to win big these days. Tsonga simply cannot get through the court often enough on that backhand. Only winners he hits off it are when the court is wide open or he is passing a guy at the net. Plus all the extra effort and tactics that must be employed to cover up that side make it much tougher for him to control rallies against the very best.

 

[Max G.]

What do you mean what happened to him?

It seems like he's the same place he's been before - bottom of the top 10. He's good enough to take out the top 4 on a good day, but he doesn't have those good days all the time, so he's not really a slam contender most of the time. He's currently ranked #8, which is respectable and probably a good fit.

 

[fedfan46]

Erratic.. Headcase.

This. The two words that come to my head when I think of tsonga. A 140 mph serve and not being up to par with the top 30 in the other aspects of the game isn't gonna get you very far

 

[The Bawss]

aren't you the same clown that said murray will never win a slam?

And he still hasn't! The wind beat Novak fair and square.

 

[フェデラー]

Tsonga's backhand is a pretty terrible shot for a top player, that would always be a weakness on today's slow surfaces. Although I still think he is capable of winning a major.

This is why he has to switch to the one hander. He has shown that that shot is clearly superior to his two hander. I realize it's late in his career but I still think he can make it work.

 

[Mainad]

And he still hasn't! The wind beat Novak fair and square.

Wow, so Novak was out there battling the wind for almost 5 hours while Murray just sat in his chair twiddling with his playstation!

How do you rate the wind's chances of getting another Slam in 2013 or do you think it will be just another one-Slam winder?

 

[The Bawss]

Wow, so Novak was out there battling the wind for almost 5 hours while Murray just sat in his chair twiddling with his playstation!

How do you rate the wind's chances of getting another Slam in 2013 or do you think it will be just another one-Slam winder?

Ok, I have to give you credit for that one. T'was pretty good.

 

[tlm]

We all thought Tsonga was going to explode in 2012, but it never really happened. 2012 is as good as Tsonga is ever going to be.

I never thought that ali was going to do anything special in any year. He is a clown that looks good once in a while but he is it to stupid to be consistent enough to hang with the big boys.

 

[monfed]

Slow courts and Tsonga's BH is the problem.

 

[Mike Sams]

We all thought Tsonga was going to explode in 2012, but it never really happened. 2012 is as good as Tsonga is ever going to be.

-4-5 MPs against Djokovic at French Open 2012 QF on Tsonga's worst surface.

-SF appearance at Wimbledon and apparently mailed it in as he usually does against Murray (Tsonga didn't want to disappoint the Brits after all).

It hasn't been a bad 2012 for Tsonga. He has the potential to do some good things even still.

 

[Timbo's hopeless slice]

I reckon the wind and the roof will play off in the finals at the AO and Wimbledon..

 

[rkelley]

Tsonga has that gift of looking unbeatable while still losing, it's unreal..

Wow, that's really . . . accurate.

 

[jwbarrientos]

too many birds in his head!!!


He's tallented but ...

 

[reversef]

If I were the head of French tennis I would have sent all the top guys (except for Simon cause he's already a bad ass) into the French Foreign Legion for 6 months. You have to be a serious mofo to battle the likes of Nadal and win. You can't be joking around all the time and lunging & hurling your body around. Tsonga did do the funniest thing ever on court but it's time to become bad ass.

I love the French players, in general they are my fav. to watch. Love the flair but it would be nice to get serious. Gasquet is much tougher now and it's beautiful to see as a fan.

I'm not sure that I completely get the meaning of "bad ass" because for me, Tsonga is one.
Anyway, his problem is not the lack of killer instinct or ambition (like Gasquet and Monfils). Like Monfils, he loves the show, but he's not such a clown. He hates defeat as much as Simon, but he has his own limits. His lack of consistency comes from the way he plays. When his game is on, he's flamboyant and he can beat everybody. But that style of game and inconsistency go together. He's also very injury prone, which is not surprising given his frame: he's very heavy for a tennis player. In 2012, he had quite a few problems if I remember well. Nothing really bad like he had some other years, but still enough to not be at his best.

 

[heninfan99]

Maybe you are right about Tsonga. I'll have to reassess.

I'm not sure that I completely get the meaning of "bad ass" because for me, Tsonga is one.
Anyway, his problem is not the lack of killer instinct or ambition (like Gasquet and Monfils). Like Monfils, he loves the show, but he's not such a clown. He hates defeat as much as Simon, but he has his own limits. His lack of consistency comes from the way he plays. When his game is on, he's flamboyant and he can beat everybody. But that style of game and inconsistency go together. He's also very injury prone, which is not surprising given his frame: he's very heavy for a tennis player. In 2012, he had quite a few problems if I remember well. Nothing really bad like he had some other years, but still enough to not be at his best.

 

[Duncan Bell]

I'd be delighted to consistently be in the top 8-10 in the world...it's not like he's fallen off a cliff.

 

[Chanwan]

This. The two words that come to my head when I think of tsonga. A 140 mph serve and not being up to par with the top 30 in the other aspects of the game isn't gonna get you very far

He's got a very good forehand and some of the best volleys too. Backhand is pretty poor/standard though.

 

[albatros_forehand]

What a nonsense. His bh is technically very well executed and clean shot and he obviously does hit winners