NEW YORK -- It was one of the great breakthroughs in the modern era of tennis - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga going all the way to the Australian Open final in January.
In the semi-finals, the Frenchman handed Rafael Nadal his last loss in a Grand Slam event, dispatching him 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 with an outrageous display of power tennis.
To Nadal's credit, he acknowledged Tsonga's superiority that night, saying: "In the backhand, he didn't miss one. Every time he does the forehand, [it] was a winner. So congratulate him."
Tsonga, who played well in a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (2) loss to Novak Djokovic in the final, definitely cooled off after his remarkable run Down Under. He was just 9-6 at the eight events he played before a meniscus problem in his right knee required surgery in May.
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But he had already impressed and charmed tennis followers with his explosive style and fun-loving personality. The many references to his facial resemblance to a young Muhammad Ali further helped him register on the broader sporting landscape.
Yesterday at the U.S. Open, Tsonga, 23, won the first match he has played since his operation, defeating Santiago Ventura of Spain 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.
"It's been a while, so I didn't expect to play my best tennis," he said. "One thing I had going for me was that I knew it would be tough, that I wouldn't play well. Knowing that helped me not panic and stay calm after losing the first set and to win in four sets fairly easily."
Tsonga was the 2003 U.S. Open junior champion, but his progress in the professional ranks has been plagued by a series of injuries. The most serious was a herniated disc in 2004 and 2005. There were also knee and abdominal problems.
"When you've been hurt a lot like me," he told L'Équipe, the French sporting daily, last week, "you end up being a bit of a fatalist. But you just force yourself. And even though it's a burden, you get up every morning and do three hours of repetition, repeating the same movement 100 times to strengthen the knee. Then, in the afternoon, you do something nobody likes - pedalling a stationary bicycle. Those fun sessions started five days after my operation [May 27] and went right until the end of July."
Shortly thereafter, he found more disappointment as he tried to get ready for the Beijing Olympics. "We pushed a little too much and the knee began to swell up," Tsonga's coach, Eric Winogradsky, told L'Équipe. "We knew that if we got the slightest twinge, we should never force it."
For Tsonga, the son of a white French mother and black Congolese father who emigrated to France to play team handball, it was a blow. "I was shattered, so fed up I stopped everything for 10 days [with Winogradsky's blessing] and didn't see anyone. Then, watching the opening ceremonies on television, I sat there in awe and felt a tingling all over. I really envied the friends I saw on the screen."
It may be ambitious for Tsonga to return at a Grand Slam event, but Winogradsky said: "The important thing is that Jo believes. Whatever happens, it will be useful preparation for the fall tournaments."
Tsonga, ranked No. 19 in the world, has not forgotten his blinder fortnight in Australia, especially the Nadal match. "I'm not obsessed by the thought," he said, "but I still think about it when he and I cross paths. I'm thinking more about the future, but it still goes through my mind: I beat you at the Australian Open and I really hope it's not the last time. I hope that sooner or later I'll have another chance to get you again.'"
In the second round in New York, Tsonga will play one of his boyhood idols, Spanish veteran Carlos Moya.
When a cheeky French radio reporter asked Tsonga yesterday whether he was ready to pull off "another Australian Open," a sly grin formed on his face, reinforcing the image of a young Ali. "After the second round," he said, "I'll tell you if I'm going to the final."
"You'll know then?" the reporter inquired.
"I don't know if I'll know, but at least I'll have a better idea," he said playfully. "Because if I've lost, I'll be a lot less sure."
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