The former World No. 5 Jo Wilfried Tsonga has announced permanent retirement from professional tennis. Currently, he is participating in the French Open, and as soon as his run ends on the clay courts of France, he will bid farewell to his tennis career. Further, he will lock horns with the Norwegian young blood Casper Ruud in the tournament’s first round.

Tsonga has the second-highest winning percentage amongst Frenchmen and 18 career titles under his name. Speaking of the French Open, he has had a semifinal run in the years 2013 and 2015. However, this year he would hope to draw strength from the crowd to extend his reach to the last round. Further, ahead of his endeavors, Novak Djokovic, the 20 times Grand Slam champion, wished him luck and took a small trip down the memory lane.

Novak Djokovic Speaks About Jo Wilfried Tsonga

Djokovic, while addressing the media, stumbled upon a question demanding his emotions about Tsonga’s retirement. To which he responded by saying, “Well, I wish him the best possible farewell to the tennis that he can imagine. And I am sure that there is going to be a lot of support for him in the center court. I am sure that is going to be very emotional for him and all the French crowd watch him play.”

Thereafter, Djokovic added, “Over the years, you know he has been most charismatic and energetic players out there. Just a lot of power when he was at his best. He was constantly in the top ten of the world. I know Jo very well also little bit back from the junior days. We always got along very well. I have tons of respect for him. Really nice guy, great guy. And he brought a lot of positive attention to the sport with the way he was playing and he was behaving. I think he can be very proud of everything that he has achieved and left behind in the sport.”

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‘I Can Be the World No. 1’: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Reveals the Feeling He Had After His Iconic Run at the 2008 Australian Open

 Tsonga Against Rudd

The Right handed tennis ace will play against the Caper Rudd, the 23-year-old tennis professional and the current world no.8. Tsonga was supposed to have his first tussle with Ruud in the first round of the US Open 2021. Though a leg injury forced him out of the tournament, and he failed to play against Casper.

Therefore, this will be the first time they will face each other in court. Ruud is riding high on form as he recently achieved his career highest ranking and clinched the title at Geneva Open last week. Whereas the former world no.5 hasn’t had a decent run till now. He took a first-round exit in most of this year’s tournaments.

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