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What are your expectations of Jo Wilfried Tsonga for the grass season?

3K views 53 replies 25 participants last post by  Mark Lenders 
#1 ·
As everyone surely remembers, Tsonga had an excellent grasscourt season in 2011, losing the final in Queens and the semifinals at Wimbledon, playing at a very high level in both tournaments. He beat Nadal at Queens and Federer at Wimbledon, playing three sets of absolutely unplayable tennis to beat to Swiss at SW19.

I've said a few times that I thought Tsonga could win Wimbledon this year, which I did in hope more than anything else. But after seeing him play on clay, his least favored surface, pushing Djokovic to very limits, I really wonder whether he can make it come true.

His backhand has shown tremendous improvement, and to a lesser extent so has his return of serve. His serve, forehand and net game remain among the very best on tour as always. If he can hit as backhand as he has lately on grass, he will be very tough to beat, his game just suits the surface so well and he seems to be improving every year.

Queens will start this Monday and Jo will be #2 seed and then #5 seed at Wimbledon and the Olympics. What do you think he can do at these three events? Would you give him any chance to win Wimbledon/The Olympics?
 
#2 ·
The Tsonga/Olderer Wimby match was overrated.

Tsonga served out of his mind. But he didn't do much more than that.

If Olderer's return game hadn't deteriorated to clown level and he wasn't such a choker, he'd have won in 3. Just look at him spanking Clownga every time after that meeting like a naughty kid.
 
#5 ·
Did he break Federer three times just with his serve :eek:?

And what are you on about? Tsonga won their following match in Montreal and they played very tight matches in the indoor season although Federer won.
 
#4 ·
Queens: Should take the title, only person I can see beating him there is Murray and given his current situation and form I don't see it.

Wimbledon: At least a SF there, for his sake though I hope he gets a better draw and avoids someone like Djokovic in the QF, but either way he's capable of beating all of the top 4 in the QF and no doubt capable of going all the way.

Olympics - I think the 3 set format until the final will favour Jo, definitely the same expectations as for Wimbledon I think is fair and realistic.
 
#9 ·
Agree with this. It will come down to whether he can bring his best tennis for 3/4 consecutive match at Wimbledon and Olympics, he'll be very tough to beat if he does.

Can't wait for Queens to start, there's few things I love more in tennis than watching Jo play on fast surfaces,namely on grass.


He broke because of errors, not because of his own play.

Say what you will but Clownga holding serve 20+ consecutively shouldn't be happening against Olderer.
Ah because he was serving so well he put Federer under extra pressure on his own service games.

And why not? He has one of the best serves on tour, probably the best in the current top 10 apart from Isner. When he's serving well, he's very tough to break, especially on grass courts.
 
#16 ·
Why though? He showed last year that he can play some awesome tennis on grass and he's been steadily improving. He's 27, but it's a young 27 since he started quite late due to injuries (he has less pro matches than Del Potro for instance, who's four years younger and skipped a year).

Your green clay point might be true for the latter stages of Wimbledon, but what about Olympics? The one week, three set format will ensure that the grass isn't worn out and remains fast probably. Even at Wimbledon's latter stages, it's the surface the most suits him, at least it helps him set his serve + forehand, serve + volley and forehand + volley combos far more easily than on other surfaces.
 
#10 ·
Queens: QF

Wimbledon: 1R

Olympics: Withdraw.
 
#11 ·
:rolleyes:

As a matter of curiosity, who exactly is going to beat him at those stages of these events?
 
#18 ·
I'm serious though, he should take a long break after that heartbreaker. Otherwise I don't see him having much success on the grass this year (or even the rest of the year in general).
He'll be alright. QF and pushing the world #1 to his limits is far more than expected from him on clay, by far his worst surface.

He's strong mentally and will not let the defeat crush, but rather take the positives from it. If he can carry that form into the grass season, especially as far as his backhand is concerned, he will be a force to be reckoned with imo.
 
#19 ·
He'll be alright. QF and pushing the world #1 to his limits is far more than expected from him on clay, by far his worst surface.

He's strong mentally and will not let the defeat crush, but rather take the positives from it. If he can carry that form into the grass season, especially as far as his backhand is concerned, he will be a force to be reckoned with imo.
Sure he exceeded expectations overall, but the fact that he could have done even more, is going to hurt him for a long, long time.

Mentally strong? :facepalm:. Well if he can come back from this, then kudos to him. The moment of truth awaits him on the grass -- will he make or break. Will be a testament to what his true character is.

But really, my advice is to take a good few weeks off and stop thinking about tennis, and just have fun. It's the only way to forget about it.
 
#15 ·
Very well could be the queens favorite odds wise, so I wouldn't be stunned if he took that.

Wimbledon QF/SF. Don't see him winning Wimbledon personally. To win wimby outside the big4 you essentially have beat to 3 of them, and you can only hope one of them is Murray. Can Tsonga beat any one individually? Of course.

However, he will still be relatively big underdogs on grass vs the big3 so to beat 2-3 of them is very tall task that is extremely unlikely.

Olympics - bronze/silver at best. See above.
 
#27 ·
I suppose that 'Big 4' is including Murray? If so, of course he can. He has beaten Novak, Rafa, Federer and Murray at Slams, we know that he has the game to do it.

I agree Federer could be the toughest. If Jo is playing well, he's very tough to break on grass, but the Federer serve is the hardest to break on paper, although I believe that on grass Nadal's is just as hard to break.
 
#28 ·
Let's see how tired he is at Queens. I think it is quite possible to reach QF/SF at Wimbledon, depending on his draw, and go deep at the Olympics too.
 
#32 ·
Difficult to say. He could win Queen's and reach the Wimbledon final (maybe even win it) with a decent draw if Stronga shows up.

However, Clownga could get knocked out in straight sets in R3 of Wimbledon by Tomic.
 
#33 ·
Tsonga should figure out whether he wants to hit a 2hbh or a 1hbh before he enters any tournaments.

What other player do you see switching between the two? It will only ever result in you having a very mediocre 2hbh and 1hbh instead of a strong 1hbh or a strong 2hbh - which is precisely what has happened in Tsonga's case.
 
#35 ·
Tsonga should figure out whether he wants to hit a 2hbh or a 1hbh before he enters any tournaments.

What other player do you see switching between the two? It will only ever result in you having a very mediocre 2hbh and 1hbh instead of a strong 1hbh or a strong 2hbh - which is precisely what has happened in Tsonga's case.
:spit:Yea , you are right. But he did that just beacuse that he isn't confident about his backhand. That's it .
BTW, if he gets an Olympic medal, that would be the most amazing sweet delicious thing ever happens in his life.
 
#34 ·
The margins on grass are a lot smaller then on clay.When he beat Federer,he had like 1 great return game in the last 3 sets and other then that he didn`t do much on the return but served well throughout.
If his serve is working,he can compete against anyone on grass,but as usual it all comes down to a couple of big points,a tiebreaker maybe and that could make a difference between a R4 loss or going all the way to semis/final
 
#36 ·
I have big expectations for him, just like for Berdych, i think top 4 + Tsonga, Berdych together we have something like big 6 on grass - i think each of them will make QF at Wimbledon, others are not good enough to beat them - maybe somebody like Raonic can knock down in Tie-breaks one of them. Already Queens will be interresting to see how mentally Jo is - after that how he said biggest loss in his career. He will be No.5 seeded, so he should make QF pretty easily, even No.9 Delpo in R16 shouldn´t be problem for him on grass. In QF i think Tsonga can beat anyone, but Murray is i think toughest match-up for him, he can outserve-outpower Federer, he can beat Nole for sure and i would like his chances agianst Rafa in QF - no pressure on him, grass still not superslow.

Olympics-this is best of 3- here will depends on draw i think a lot. REally somebody like RAonic has it easier at best of 3just win 2 tie-breaks, or serve like god for 1hour and half and job done. But the same goes for Tsonga- when in ZONE he can win 2 tie-breaks and beat each of top 4 - esily round after round.
 
#37 ·
Queens; Winner if Murray is not there, Final if he is. Could go either way
Wimbledon; If he draws Nole, Fed or Murray he has a chance for SF and even final. Draws Nadal - no hope. I think he would prefer Nole to Murray tbh.
Olympics: 4th place
 
#40 ·
Why has no chance vs Nadal? He has exactly the game NAdal doesn´t like, if he is in Zone his serve is huge, his power-agressive game is what you need to beat NAdal on any surface and he is great volleyear, can finish points vs Nadal at the net. I like his chances in QF vs Nadal. Each round further i would say Rafa is higher and hihger favorite, because of pressure, confidence, even grass - how destroyed it is, but in QF i like Tsonga´s chances vs NAdal.
 
#38 ·
hard to say, I expect a good showing at Wimbledon, QF at least
 
#44 ·
So Wimbledon was a good tournament for Jo, but not great as he lost an excellent chance to play his second Slam final.

What about Olympics? The fact that the grass is likely to play very fast and slick for the whole tournament gives him an excellent chance for a medal, maybe even gold. His draw is tough, though.

R1 - Bellucci

Jo should beat him, as Thomaz isn't exactly a grasscourt specialist.

R2 - Raonic

Very tough. Milos isn't great on grass, but Jo hates facing big servers (due to his abysmal ROS). He needs to stay calm at all times and avoid frustration if he is to win this one.

R3 - Monaco/Goffin

Should be easy. Raonic is the only test before quarters really is Jo is playing anything close to his normal level.

QF - Novak

This opponent needs no presentations, he's about as tough as it gets. But especially on a fast surface, Jo has every chance to beat him. He was agonizingly close to do so at the FO after all.

SF - Murray/Berdych

Both very tough. Murray is generally a bad matchup for Jo, who seemingly refuses to adapt his tactics, but the surface should be playing much faster than in their Wimbledon SF, which would favor Jo. Tomas is also beatable, although Jo sometimes struggles with big hitters.

F - Federer/some upset run

This opponent needs no presentations as well. He's considered the favorite to win the event, but Jo has already shown he can beat him in best of 5 on this surface, so he would have a chance.


How far do you think Jo will go? All the way? A medal? Early upset?

How much does the faster grass favor him against the top players? What about the best of 3 format (until the final)?
 
#46 ·
Well, I certainly noticed a huge difference about how Jo played in first and second week, not only this year but every year since 2010. I guess you could argue he's simply facing tougher competition in the second week, but there are opposite cases like Nadal (vulnerable in the first week, almost unstoppable in the second week) that seem to confirm my point.

For instance, would a pushathon like this year's Murray vs Ferrer QF even be possible in week 1? Doubt it.
 
#47 · (Edited)
It obviously slows down, but I wouldn't say 'huge difference'.

Muzz and Ferrer could do a pushathon on almost any surface, such is their prowess at pushing. Exacerbated when two defensive players meet. More about the players than the surface. Fed played a rather (very?) attacking style in the final, coming in a ridiculous amount of times by his standards, and having 70%+ success at the net. And that's when the court is its slowest. I'm sure there were some pushathons in the early rounds, I just can't remember them, because I don't typically watch pushers.

Chela vs Klizan in R1 lasted nearly 5 hours, but I didn't see it. Chela was probably grinding, but I imagine Klizan was bashing.
Obviously not any clay mug can push on a fast surface, but Muzz and Ferrer are the push-elites.
 
#48 ·
That's a fair analysis. I reckon mega pushers like Murray and Ferrer can turn any match on any surface into a grindathon.

But how to explain Nadal though? His chronic struggles in the first week against low ranked players followed by decimations of the best players in the world in week 2 seem to suggest there is a noticeable difference.

Jo too, although he faces tougher opposition in week 2, his serve and groundstrokes are clearly not as effective imo.
 
#49 ·
You gotta remember that Nadal often starts slowly in any given tournament. By the latter stages, he has warmed up.
Look at RG 2011 when he nearly lost to Isner in the first round (I think). Obviously at Wim, the slower surface in the 2nd week helps as well, but if someone takes him to 5 at Wim, it's because they're playing out of their skin more than anything else.

Jo served pretty well at last year's Wim QF :p The let-down against Nole was inevitable, and not due to court speed.
 
#52 · (Edited)
Yeah, but I do still believe there's clear difference. For defensive players, getting past the first week of Wimbledon is the biggest challenge, once they get there the surface will suit them more.

Jo did serve insanely well against Federer; he did serve very well in the semis too though, that's the only reason he even sneaked a set as the rest of his game was mostly atrocious. I do agree that defeat had nothing to do with court speed. This year against Murray, though, although Jo's tactics were baffingly bad, I doubt it would have mattered much if the surface was fast enough to not let Murray take full swings on some of those passing shots he pulled.


Tsonga could win gold because it's Bo3, but it's Tsonga, so he could also lose 2nd round to Raonic.
Tsonga has never struggled with the best of 5 format, he actually has a good record in 5 setters and usually overperforms in Slams compared to his Masters performances. The main advantage for him is that the grass won't be worn out (I think) by the latter stages of the tournament.

And yes, he could definitely lose to Milos, very tricky match that one. Jo hates playing big servers - mostly because he has by far the worst ROS in the top 10, it's atrocious. That will not be an easy match for Tsonga, he is in danger for sure.

I was gonna say Mark Lenders must think he is gonna get a medal here, because Tsonga is super Tsonga.. then entered the thread and saw he is the OP :haha:
So I'm optimistic about my favorite tennis players, what a heinous offense.

And yes, Jo could obviously get a medal here.
 
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