By Bill Simons
Everything was perfect for Mr. Perfect.
After all, Roger Federer is said to be the greatest player ever. “Even in decline,” declared the London Times, “Federer is better then practically anyone else who has ever picked up a racket.”
This year’s French Open served up many a good omen for Roger. His first two matches were against qualifiers. More significantly, his two greatest opponents—Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic—were on the other side of the draw. In the third round, when he played Julien Benneteau, the Frenchman showed up hobbling. Then Roger was able to bravely come back from a two-sets-to-one deficit against France’s Gilles Simon.
Federer, it was said, got his “close-call match,” his “scare,” out of the way. To reach the semis and play David Ferrer (who he owns), he only had to beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the man who looks like Muhammad Ali.
Yes, both Ali and Tsonga are charismatic and enchanting athletes. Like Ali, Tsonga drew unbridled adulation early in is career. One poet wrote, “I love this bloke, so I thought I’d write a songa; so everybody cheer for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga; he’s the unseeded fella who can do no wronga; allez, allez, Tsonga.”
But unlike Ali, Tsonga had trouble taking a punch. Yes, he had a fearsome forehand and his serve inspired some to create signs: “Typhoon Tsonga,” “Super Tsonga,” and “Tsonga Stronga.” But too often Tsonga came up underwater. “The question is about the top two inches [of his head],” said the unsparing broadcaster Matt Brown. After all, this is the guy who once complained in Shanghai that he lost a match because the ball boys didn’t bring him his towel and he “lost a bit of energy.”
Yet Tsonga, the No. 8 player in the world, is the standout of a fine and deep crop of French players. He reached the Australian final in 2008, and the Wimbledon semis the past two years, rallying from two sets down to beat Federer in 2011. Still, the best he’s ever done at his country’s home Slam was a quarterfinal showing last year.
To get to this year’s semis, he’d have to beat The Amazing Fed, who’d won five of their last six matches. “Not to worry, Fed is over the hill,” whispered some critics. Such sentiments probably meant little to Tsonga. He’d lost in straight sets to Federer in their last encounter at a major, the 2011 US Open. Back then he said, “Every time when he loses, everybody says Roger is finished. But, for me, he’s still the same player. He is very good. When the confidence is here for him, it’s hard for everybody to play against him.”
Yet on a cool, windy day in Paris, Federer’s customary confidence was not present. Neither was any sort of rhythm. His serve faltered. He wildly shanked forehands and suffered a key late break to lose the first set, 7-5. He had openings to come back, but missed several simple volleys, flubbed three overheads, and dropped serve six times. Time and again, a flustered Federer seemed to smirk, stare at lines, or shrug his shoulders in dismay. This was not a perfect “Raj,” in control. Rather, this was a rather ruffled one, who looked just a smidgen flat, as if the five-set match against Simon had drained just a bit of explosiveness out of his game—a game that some feel is beginning to show signs of age. One wondered: where was the usual Federerian fire? Where was his zeal, his fierce determination not to lose?
The third time was not a charm for Roger, who, after dispatching two other Frenchmen, came up short against Tsonga. After his stunning 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 loss, he conceded that the French “have much more energy here [at Roland Garros] … I thought he [Tsonga] played great today. He was, in all areas, better than me today. That’s why the result was pretty clean. No doubt about it. I was impressed.”
Federer said that Tsonga has “a big game. He takes time away from you. I think confidence is a very important part of his game today … He’s improved as a player. He can take the ball early and stay back and rally some … Similar traits to what I have.” He went on to concede that he “struggled a little bit everywhere,” adding, “To be honest, personally, I’m pretty sad about the match and the way I played. But that’s how it goes. I tried to figure things out, but it was difficult. And Jo does a good job keeping the pressure on. He can serve his way out of trouble … He returned better than I did; served better than I did. I struggled to find my rhythm.”
Though Federer said it was “crushing” to be “sent packing home,” he remained optimistic. “I had a great time here in Paris nevertheless. I enjoyed myself … I played some good tennis … I just [have] to forget [the loss] quickly, and that I usually do pretty well anyway … Now I look forward to other things. I love the grass court season … Especially [as] it’s been 10 years since my first Wimbledon victory.”
Of course, Tsonga has never won a Slam. Little wonder, then, that he was ecstatic after his Court Centrale triumph. He twirled and leaped and offered a blissful series of fist pumps—an unfettered expression of delight. Most would agree his prance ‘n dance is the best victory ritual in the game.
But while the limerick-oriented Muhammad Ali offered clever rhymes in conversation, Tsonga gives us flowing, lyrical takes—his perspective is almost poetic. “I can’t have a better dream,” he said after winning. “So far I play very well. I played against a champion today, a guy who has won everything. Today it’s my turn … Sports is beautiful because you can always do something.”
Now France dares to hope that on Sunday a man who, like Yannick Noah, who has one parent from France and one from Africa, can do what no Frenchman has done since Noah did 30 years ago: lift the Coupe des Musketeers as the French Open Champion. Allez, allez Jo!
