From physio’s bed to the third round at Wimbledon – it has been a swift and direct journey for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The popular Frenchman served and smiled his way past Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in a display of power and purpose. He was not troubled, he was never threatened and he was doing just what he needed to do at this stage of the competition. In 100 neat and controlled minutes, he was back in the locker room with only as much energy exerted as was absolutely necessary.
Seven out of ten, I would say
Asked to give himself marks out of 10 for his day’s work, Tsonga was quickly doing his sums. “I will say I did the best part of the job because I won – so that is five points,” he said. “Then I served pretty good so that is two more points. Seven out of 10, I would say.”
So, using that basic maths, Tsonga thinks there is still another 30 per cent more to come in this Wimbledon campaign. That is impressive seeing as he had not struck a ball on grass when he arrived in SW19. Although he had planned to make full use of the extra week between the French Open and here, entering ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Halle and Nottingham, he had to miss them all due to what Venus Williams used to call her “abominables”. And you can see her point. Abdominal muscle injuries take an age to heal and tend to leave a nasty weakness behind them – it does not take much for abdominal issue to become abominable. They are to be treated with care.
Erring on the side of caution, Tsonga eased his way here via the practice courts and gave his injury time to heal. The medicine clearly worked as there was little sign that the Frenchman was anything but fighting fit. There was no hangover from his epic five-setter against Gilles Muller in the first round and there was plenty of evidence to prove just why the world No.12 can be such a threat on these courts.
There were the 17 aces and the 89 per cent of first serve points won. There were the 19 trips to the net, of which 16 produced winners. Then there were the 37 winners and only the 11 unforced errors. This was a good afternoon for Tsonga and for his confidence.
But for Ramos-Vinolas, it was all too much. Grass is not his happiest hunting ground at the best of times and beating Denis Istomin in the opening round was only his second win on the green stuff in a nine-year career. Even then, it helped that Istomin withdrew in the third set, citing exhaustion. Taking on a fit and firing Tsonga was never going to be easy.
The Spaniard gave it his best shot though. He may pick clay as his favourite surface and he may have grown up idolising Alex Corretja (whose Wimbledon record stands at an understated played six, won two) but with a lefty serve and a forehand that would knock holes in concrete, he set to work. He even tried a smattering of sliced backhands (that’s what the grass court chaps do, isn’t it?). All in all, he did everything he could think of to keep Tsonga working hard.
The trouble was that Tsonga was just too strong. Too powerful, too experienced and too good. He knows how to attack from every quarter of the court and he knows how to beat any challenge on this tricky surface. Twice a semi-finalist in SW19, it was Tsonga who finally broke Roger Federer’s record in 2011. Never before in 178 matches had the Swiss lost from a two-set lead. But from two sets down, Tsonga beat him that day.
Facing the world No.65, a man with limited ambitions on the green lawns, Tsonga was able to present his credentials. The spotlight may be shining elsewhere this week but Tsonga is not to be forgotten. Nor messed with. He will take some beating, will Jo.
