Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on "Big Three": "I would have loved it if it hadn't existed"
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was confronted with the "Big Three" as competition throughout his entire career. Today he has contradicting feelings for this rivalry.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Jan 17, 2021, 02:46 pm
"Let's be honest. I would have loved it if these three guys hadn't existed," jokes Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in DipTalk on Eurosport , only to explain a little later that there is a core of bitter truth in these words: "When you are in the elite year after year and you see that you can reach the top 5, but you can't get beyond that because they're ahead, you wonder where you could go if you hadn't collapsed with them", so the French.
At the same time it was an incredible honor to be able to play against the "Big Three". To have scored a few wins against her is "something unique", as the 35-year-old explains. With a total of sixty wins against Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, the former Australian Open finalist has even been able to collect some successes against the big dominators, although there are 39 defeats.
Tsonga: "A miracle"
Not only is a single duel with these three exceptional players a very difficult undertaking, there is also another problem, as Tsonga explains: "There were times when I felt good on the pitch, I won the round of 16, but I was looking at the table and it was impossible not to get discouraged, in the quarterfinals I would play one of them and most likely if I win I would play another in the semifinals and the third in the final they say to yourself that when you become a champion, it's a miracle. "
Once the French should succeed in such a "miracle" when he defeated Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic on his way to the ATP Masters 1000 triumph in Toronto in 2014. An achievement that brought the 35-year-old to his absolute maximum: "After the final against Roger, I felt totally exhausted. I remember going to the toilet and starting to urinate. I got scared and called the doctor who told me that because of my extreme tiredness and tension, some muscle fibers tore and my body was expelling them in the urine. I will never forget that and all the fights I had with the Big 3. It was a big one Proud to face them, " recalls Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.