How does Tsonga bid farewell to the tour?
An emotional moment could be in store as early as Tuesday in the 126th men’s singles at the French Open. Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who announced seven weeks ago that he would hang up his tennis racket after the tournament, will finally face an in-form top-10 player and could thus play the last tennis match of his career.
The hearts of the fans at the Stade Roland Garros will undoubtedly fly to the man from Le Mans. However, it is highly unlikely that the 37-year-old, who is completely out of shape, will say goodbye to the ATP Tour with what could be his last victory. In the run-up to the duel between Casper Ruud and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the odds are clearly in the Norwegian’s favour.
Casper Ruud already impressed in 2021 with five tournament wins, and the world number eight has continued to do so in the new year.
After all, the Norwegian prefers clay courts, which is why we expect the favourite to win 3-0. Nevertheless, a farewell with his head held high on the part of the Frenchman is not out of the question, which is why we see the greatest value in Casper Ruud against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a tip on the local hero with +8.5 games. For this to happen, the 37-year-old would have to win at least ten games even in the event of a clear defeat in three sets, which seems realistic despite his form crisis.
Casper Ruud – Statistics & current form
Current position in the world ranking: 8
Position in the seedings: 8
The 23-year-old Norwegian Casper Ruud continues to be on the rise. Already in the 2021 season, he was the second most successful player on the ATP Tour behind Alexander Zverev (six titles), having won five tournaments.
In 2022, the player from Oslo will continue exactly where he left off last year. In Buenos Aires, the number eight in the ATP world rankings secured the overall victory as well as on Saturday in Geneva, where Casper Ruud even successfully defended his title from the previous year.
64% of all matches won at the French Open
The momentum with which the Norwegian starts at the French Open is correspondingly great. Here, Casper Ruud is in the main draw for the fifth time in his career and brings with him a most astonishing record for his young age: The player from Oslo has never failed in the first round at Roland Garros before.
In total, the world number eight has won seven of his eleven singles matches in the main draw of the French Open, which gives him a highly respectable win rate of 64%. Accordingly, the 23-year-old is clearly favoured.
24 wins from 33 singles matches in 2022
While the Norwegian, who lost to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the 2022 Miami Open, is still missing his first Major title. However, in view of his impressive annual record of 24 wins from 33 singles matches, there is little to suggest that he will have to accept a first-round exit at the French Open for the first time in his career against a poorly-formed crowd favourite.
It therefore seems to be a clear-cut matter to bet on a three-set victory for Casper Ruud against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who has won seven of his last eight singles matches in Oslo.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 297
Seeded List Position: Wildcard
As number 297 in the ATP world rankings, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga needed the wildcard to even be allowed to take part in the men’s singles at the French Open.
But the fact that the 37-year-old Frenchman, who is a Knight of the French Order of Merit, received this wild card was of course a point of honour in view of his achievements for French tennis. After all, the man from Le Mans will end his career following the tournament.
2013 and 2015 already twice in the semifinals of the French Open
Although the 37-year-old has failed to win a Grand Slam tournament overall. However, he did reach the final of the Australian Open in 2008 and won the Paris Masters in 2008 and the Roger’s Cup in 2014 at Masters level.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also recorded several resounding successes at Roland Garros. In 2013 and 2015, the Frenchman reached the semifinals here. In twelve appearances, “Ali”, as Tsonga is known to his fans, has won 28 of his 40 singles matches – an impressive rate of 70%.
Won only two of eight singles matches in 2022
However, the Frenchman is now entering this big stage for the last time in his career extremely out of form. Tsonga has not won a single singles match at a major tournament since autumn 2019. Most recently, several injuries forced him to take a break again and again. Since his last comeback this year, he has only won two of eight singles matches.
Consequently, the player from Le Mans is the glaring underdog in this first-round match.
Casper Ruud – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Direct comparison / H2H record
Head to head: 0:0
There has never been a singles between the two athletes before. Therefore, there is no “head to head” data that could be used in the forecast for Casper Ruud against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Casper Ruud – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Tip
Of course, it would be a real Cinderella story if Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were to make another strong run in front of his “home crowd”, of all people, in the last tennis tournament of his career. However, a look at Casper Ruud’s outstanding performance data alone prohibits such dreaming. On the contrary, we can assume a very unromantic end to the Frenchman’s career. Even a straight sets win against the Norwegian clay court expert would be a big surprise.
We don’t expect the match to be overly long. However, we expect the Frenchman to fight for every game and to win at least ten games in total, which makes the bet on Tsonga with a handicap of +8.5 very interesting.
