France to compete with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Tennis fans at the ARAG WORLD TEAM CUP, to take place at Duesseldorf Rochusclub on May 17-23, 2009, may be looking forward to watch one of the best and most interesting tennis players on the circuit: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France will compete at the Tennis World Team Championship. With a 19-3 record the 23-year-old French player boasts the highest number of victories in the still young 2009 season - he competed at six tournaments so far, made it at least into the quarter finals and even won the events in Johannesburg and Marseille.
Tsonga stepped into the limelight when he downed no one less than Rafael Nadal (6-2, 6-3, 6-2) in the semi finals of the 2008 Australian Open. Reaching the final of this Grand Slam tournament, he landed his so far biggest career success.
With his refreshing and emotional way of playing, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - his physique and looks are evocative of the boxing legend Muhammad Ali - is regularly sending his fans into a frenzy. The son of a French mother and Congolese father tips the scales at 90 kilogram with a height of 1,88 m. This is why he can hit the balls with such an enormous power and as a result he quite frequently brings his opponents down to their knees.
Already on the junior circuit Tsonga made the headlines when he won the 2003 US Open. However, he had to take two five-months long breaks due to injury in 2005 and again in 2006 so that he even started thinking of ending his tennis career. Fortunately, he eventually changed his mind...
Tsonga ended the 2008 season on sixth position in the ATP ranking - even though he had to take a three-months long break due to a meniscus injury - as the best French tennis player, one spot ahead of Gilles Simon. Thus, Tsonga and Simon quite easily qualified the French team for the ARAG WORLD TEAM CUP. Should Simon also compete at the Tennis World Team Championship, the French would be one of the top favourites for the title. So far, the French team won the event once - in 1986, during the times of Henri Leconte and Guy Forget.
Tsonga stepped into the limelight when he downed no one less than Rafael Nadal (6-2, 6-3, 6-2) in the semi finals of the 2008 Australian Open. Reaching the final of this Grand Slam tournament, he landed his so far biggest career success.
With his refreshing and emotional way of playing, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - his physique and looks are evocative of the boxing legend Muhammad Ali - is regularly sending his fans into a frenzy. The son of a French mother and Congolese father tips the scales at 90 kilogram with a height of 1,88 m. This is why he can hit the balls with such an enormous power and as a result he quite frequently brings his opponents down to their knees.
Already on the junior circuit Tsonga made the headlines when he won the 2003 US Open. However, he had to take two five-months long breaks due to injury in 2005 and again in 2006 so that he even started thinking of ending his tennis career. Fortunately, he eventually changed his mind...
Tsonga ended the 2008 season on sixth position in the ATP ranking - even though he had to take a three-months long break due to a meniscus injury - as the best French tennis player, one spot ahead of Gilles Simon. Thus, Tsonga and Simon quite easily qualified the French team for the ARAG WORLD TEAM CUP. Should Simon also compete at the Tennis World Team Championship, the French would be one of the top favourites for the title. So far, the French team won the event once - in 1986, during the times of Henri Leconte and Guy Forget.
AUF DEUTSCH
