"You've been an inspiration to me and many young players around the world," said Ruud, a 23-year-old from Norway who joked about being sad at age 10 when his favourite player, Nadal, lost to Tsonga at the Australian Open. There were video tributes from the greatest four male players of this era - Novak Djokovic (who called Tsonga's retirement "a big loss for professional men's tennis"), Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray ("You've been a great ambassador for the sport," he told Tsonga) - and a series of speeches. For the first time since 1980, there were no men or women from the country seeded in the tournament. It is a tough time for tennis in the land of the French Open. Tsonga leaves with 121 wins in grand slam matches, a record for a French man. Adrenaline you can feel when you have 15,000 people shouting your name." The locals gave Tsonga a prolonged standing ovation, and he went up near the net, knelt and rested his forehead on the ground, creating a splotch of the rust-coloured clay on his face.Īsked later what he'll miss the most as he leaves the sport, he replied: "The adrenaline, stepping on a big court like this one. ![]() When play resumed, Tsonga could barely even serve, tapping the ball at barely more than 100 km/h - less than half as fast as the booming offerings he was known for - and even tried hitting one shot left-handed as the tiebreaker ended in a shutout. Ruud quickly broke back, and Tsonga was visited by a trainer, who tried to help the situation but could not.ĭuring a three-minute medical timeout, a band in the stands got fans to clap and chant "Jo! Jo!" to the rhythm of a drumbeat, then played "La Marseillaise" as some in the seats sang along to France's national anthem. But at the end of that game, he wrenched his shoulder, and that was that. He appeared to have a chance to extend the match by breaking to go up 6-5 in the fourth set. "I couldn't have asked for a better script, apart from the fact that I could have won." I couldn't have asked for something better," Tsonga said. One of the best atmospheres I have seen in my career (for) my last match. ![]() He's been limited to a total of 18 matches since the start of 2021, turned 37 last month, has a family now and knew this trip to Roland Garros would be the perfect way to bid adieu.
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