Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has spoken out and said that he believes he can dominate world No.3 Novak Djokovic, if they meet at the inaugural Brisbane International tennis tournament next week.
Since beating Tsonga at the Australian Open, Djokovic has been beaten 3 times by the 23 year old. Tsonga is the second seed behind Djokovic in Brisbane and he believes that if his serve is working, he can win the match.
Regarding his serve, Tsonga said, “It is enough. Because you can usually break (your opponent) with a little bit of luck, and then you serve and you serve and you serve."
Reaching …read more

I highlighted the women yesterday so it’s only fair (and kind of a lot more fun!) to follow up with the men’s grass court preview.
You gotta start at the top: Roger Federer. He’s had a rough first half to 2008. He was destroyed by world number two Rafael Nadal. He’s been suffering from illnesses. But the guy has the grass record to make that all disappear…for now anyway. It’s kind of like the innocent until proven guilty thing. This grass court season is pivotal for Roger. Absolutely crucial. If he can pull it together…well…he needs to pull it together, and …read more

And the hits just keep on comin’. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won’t be reprising his role as the breakthrough player at the French Open. After stunning success at the Australian Open early this year, Tsonga was on everyone’s Players to Watch list.
Due to a knee injury, Tsonga has pulled out before play starts at Roland Garros tomorrow. He also has surgery scheduled for Tuesday to repair the meniscus in his knee. (The article said it was “broken” but meniscus is cartilage in the knee…the proper term would be “torn”…but whatever, it’s just the details, right?)
I’m a little sad Tsonga won’t be in …read more

The question of who would represent France in the Davis Cup quarterfinal series with the United States was answered on its own when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga withdrew with a right knee injury.
Tsonga will be replaced with Arnaud Clement – whoever that is. Richard Gasquet, Paul Henri-Mathieu and Michael Llodra. And the United States will be represented by the Fixed Four – Andy Roddick, James Blake and Bob and Mike Bryan.
Otherwise, not a whole lot is happening in the tennis world. I mean – Venus withdrew from the Family Circle Cup because of illness and Lindsay Davenport is rolling at Amelia Island …read more

It was one heck of a match. 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 victory to Rafael Nadal over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Pacific Life Open. I was on the edge of the couch, biting my nails, shouting at the television. My roommate walks into the house, sees me nearly apoplectic and asks, “Is that Wedgie Man playing?” referring to Nadal.
Why yes, yes it is. I’ve seen Rafa play a lot. He’s been around for quite awhile, but he found a different gear today. It was amazing. He was down a break, and Tsonga was serving for the match at 5-2. Tsonga should have won it, but …read more

There has been some ups and downs to start this first quarter of the 2008 season. Probably the one that sticks out the most is Roger Federer’s decline. Well – maybe not decline – how about the narrowing of the gap between him and the minions chasing him? But for today, I’d like to put a positive spin on this post and talk about the players who have really stepped it up in the first two-ish months of the season: the top of the crop. (They’re not in any particular order because, as we all know, I’m very sensitive to …read more

I think rankings can really get in the way sometimes. As a player, if you get too caught up in where you sit in the top 10 – or the fact that you’re sitting outside the top 10 – it can take your focus off of where it really needs to be.
After the Australian Open, the men’s tennis rankings aren’t too shook up except for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s 20-place move to No. 18 in the world. Roger Federer still owns the top spot with 6630 points and Rafael Nadal still sits in second with 5980. Novak Djokovic solidified his hold on …read more

The chips are in and the cards are down. The fortnight at the Australian Open is a closed book, but there are 10 moments from Down Under that were pretty special.
10. No Americans at the Australian Open past the quarterfinals.
I should take that back. There was one American who lost in the semifinals and that was Ryan Harrison in the boys’ singles. The boys’ singles! Otherwise, James Blake lost to Roger Federer in the quarters and both Serena and Venus Williams gave the queen wave on the women’s side as they bowed out. Forget Andy Roddick – he left in …read more

I wasn’t planning on watching any of the Australian Open final live. Well – I take that back. Yesterday morning, I had every good intention of taking a nap and then staying up for it. Pacific Coast time is nice for matters such as that. But I went to bed and, after getting woke up by my neighbor’s bass music at 1 in the morning, I decided – why not?
So I watched a couple sets of the men’s finals in Melbourne. After seeing Novak Djokovic grab the second set and take the momentum in the third, I decided to go …read more

When Rafael Nadal was drop-kicked out of the Australian Open by a relative unknown, I thought – Hmm – wasn’t expecting that but a little bit of upheaval will be good for the tennis world.
So if a little bit is good, does that mean a lot is great?
Novak Djokovic punched Roger Federer’s ticket on the express out of Melbourne in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. In straight sets. Yeah. Wow. Whoa. Did I mention straight sets? Did I mention Roger Federer – the guy who has won 12 Grand Slams – lost?
Holy tumbling tennis pyramid. It must be global warming …read more