The tennis carrer of Jo Wilfred Tsonga

Early career
Tsonga had a successful junior career, winning the US Open Juniors title in 2003 by defeating Marcos Baghdatis in the final, and also reached the semifinals of the other three Grand Slam events. Tsonga turned pro in 2004, and qualified for the China Open in September of that year. In his first ever main draw match, he upset former French Open champion and former World No. 1 Carlos Moy in the first round, before losing to Lee Hyung-taik in the second.[4][5] Tsonga suffered a string of injuries beginning late in the same year, with a herniated disc that caused him to be out of action until March 2005. Then came two right shoulder injuries later in 2005, back and abdominal ailments from October 2005 to February 2006, and the recurrence of an abdominal injury at the end of 2006. In all, he played only eight tournaments during that time.[6]

2007
In January 2007, then ranked No. 212 in the world, Tsonga received a wild card entry into the 2007 Australian Open, where in only his second senior Grand Slam tournament match, he met sixth seed Andy Roddick for the second time in his career. What followed was the longest tiebreak in Australian Open history in the first set, which he went on to win (2018). Tsonga forced a tiebreak in the second set, as well. However, he went on to lose the match in four sets. He was just 21 at the time. In 2007, he won four Challenger titles in Tallahassee, Mexico City, Lanzarote, and Surbiton. Tsonga qualified for the 2007 Queen's Club Championships, while at the same time playing in the Surbiton Challenger, which he won. Between the two events, he won five matches during the course of two days. In the second round of the Queen's main draw, he met the sixth seed and defending champion, former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, ranked No. 16 in the ATP rankings. Tsonga won the match after two tiebreaks to seal his most prominent victory since his triumph in ATP debut over former World No. 1 Carlos Moy, then ranked No. 6 in the world, at Beijing in 2004. Suffering from fatigue, however, Tsonga went on to lose to promising Croatian youngster Marin iliin the following round. At Wimbledon 2007, where he was again awarded a wildcard entry, he reached the fourth round (his first time past round one of a Grand Slam), defeating countryman Julien Benneteau, Nicols Lapentti, and Feliciano Lpez. His run was halted by his countryman and friend, 12th seed Richard Gasquet, in straight sets. He did not beat a seeded player in his progress to the fourth round (Andy Murray, the potential seed he would have faced, had dropped out). The win brought his ranking up from No. 110 to No. 74, his first time inside the top 75. Then, at the 2007 US Open, Tsonga defeated scar Hernndez before beating Tim Henman in what proved to be Henman's last Major.[7][8][9] He then lost to Rafael Nadal in three sets.[10] The 2007 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon tournament started strongly for Tsonga. He beat Vince Spadea,[11][12] Richard Gasquet,[13] and Olivier Rochus, before losing to compatriot Sbastien Grosjean. He partnered Grosjean, however, in men's doubles,

where the team was awarded a wildcard. They beat top seeds Julien Benneteau and Michal Llodra, Fabrice Santoro and Gilles Simon, and then third seeds Arnaud Clment and Nicolas Mahut in the semifinals. Tsonga won his first doubles title, and Grosjean won his first doubles title in three years by defeating ukasz Kubot and Lovro Zovko in straight sets. By the end of the year, Tsonga saw his ranking rise over 150 ranking spots into the top 50. Tsonga began 2007 ranked No. 212 in the world, and in early July was in the top 100 at No. 74. In October, Tsonga climbed into the top 50 for the first time in his career, finishing the year ranked no. 43 in the world. Tsonga's year-end 169 ranking spots climb was the biggest climb of any player ranked in the top 75.

2008
Starting his 2008 season, Tsonga won a singles match at the 2008 Next Generation Adelaide International. He defeated Victor Hnescu and Ernests Gulbisn before dispatching Lleyton Hewitt (the top seed). However, he fell in the semifinals to Jarkko Nieminen. In doubles, Tsonga and Sbastien Grosjean lost to Florian Mayer and Chris Haggard in the first round. Tsonga played doubles in the Sydney Medibank International with Richard Gasquet. They scored a major upset in the finals over World No. 1 team Bob and Mike Bryan in a super tiebreak. Tsonga began his 2008 Australian Open campaign with a tough first-round match against ninth seed Andy Murray and pulled off a four-set victory.[14]Tsonga then defeated Sam Warburg and Guillermo Garca-Lpez, Richard Gasquet and Mikhail Youzhny to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, Tsonga delivered a strong performance and shocked second seed Rafael Nadal in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, in 3rd set nadal cried as he could not handle Tsonga's power and speed. He did not face a break point on his serve until the third set, while breaking the Spaniard five times in the match.[15]The victory earned him a spot in his first Grand Slam final, where he was beaten by World No. 3 Novak Djokovic in four sets. Tsonga was the only player in the tournament to take a set from Djokovic. Following the tournament, he saw his ranking climb to a career-high of World No. 18. Tsonga then competed at the Indian Wells Masters, where he reached the fourth round, before losing to defending champion Rafael Nadal in three sets. Following the tournament, Tsonga saw his ATP ranking climb again to a new career high of World No. 12. Tsonga had pulled out of the French Open because of a knee problem that had lasted for several months.[16] This knee injury made him pull out of the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup, France vs. the United States. He underwent successful knee surgery and participated in the 2008 US Open. He defeatedSantiago Ventura and Carlos Moy before falling to World No. 5 Tommy Robredo in the third round. Tsonga entered the Thailand Open as the second-seeded player. He defeated Luk Dlouh, Jrgen Melzer, Gal Monfils, and top seed and 2008 Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic to claim his first career ATP title. At the Paris Masters, Tsonga overcame Djokovic once again to earn a place in the quarterfinals. He then defeated Andy Roddick and James Blake. In the final, Tsonga defeated David Nalbandian in a competitive three-set match to capture his first career ATP Masters Series championship. His win allowed him to secure a spot in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup.[17]

In the round-robin portion of the Masters Cup, Tsonga lost to Nikolay Davydenko and Juan Martn del Potro, and beat Novak Djokovic, but he did not advance to the semifinals.

2009
Tsonga started his 2009 season in Australia at the Brisbane International tournament. He defeated Agustn Calleri, Jarkko Nieminen, and then lost Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals. Tsonga teamed up with fellow Frenchman Marc Gicquel to win the doubles title by defeating Fernando Verdasco and Mischa Zverev in the final. At the Medibank International, Tsonga was forced to retire with a back injury before his quarterfinal match against Jarkko Nieminen. The Australian Open found Tsonga making it to the quarterfinals, before losing to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in four sets. His rank went down to No. 14. He next entered the South African Tennis Open in Johannesburg, where he won his first title of the year, and third overall, by defeating Jrmy Chardy in the finals. After his triumph in South Africa, Tsonga entered the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, where he lost to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals in three sets. Tsonga then entered the Open 13 in Marseille. He defeated Andrey Golubev, Simone Bolelli, and Feliciano Lpez, before notching his fourth straight win over Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. In his second all-French final of the month, he defeated Michal Llodra to win his second tournament in three weeks. Tsonga was then called up to play the singles matches for France against the Czech Republic in their Davis Cup first-round clash. Tsonga defeated Radek tpnek, but the Czech Republic had an insurmountable 31 lead. Tsonga gave France a consolation point by beating Jan Hernych. At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California Tsonga made an early exit from the tournament, as he was defeated by the Russian Igor Andreev in the third round. Next up for Tsonga was the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. He defeated Agustn Calleri, Robert Kendrick, and Gilles Simon, only to lose to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. After skipping two tournaments, Tsonga made his return at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, but he lost his first singles match in the claycourt season at the hands of Richard Gasquet. In doubles, he and partner Julien Benneteaulost to the Polish pair of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski in the second round. Tsonga then entered the Madrid Masters, but lost in round two. Afterwards, he received the 2008 ATP Most Improved Player of the Year award.[18]

Tsonga during an exhibition match prior to the 2009 French Open. Tsonga then represented France at Dsseldorf, Germany in the ARAG World Team Cup. Tsonga won the first tie against Sweden's Andreas Vinciguerra, but lost in doubles. Tsonga was defeated by German Philipp Kohlschreiber, but then beat American Robby Ginepri. However, France lost three successive ties during the week Tsonga then entered the French Open. Tsonga recorded his first-ever match win at Roland Garros by defeating Julien Benneteau in the first round. He then had wins over Juan Mnaco and Christophe Rochus, before his fine run ended at the hands of fifth seed Juan Martn del Potro. Next up was theGerry Weber Open, Tsonga suffered a straight-set defeat against German Tommy Haas in the second round. However, In doubles, Tsonga was paired with his French compatriot Marc Gicquel, but they were also defeated in round two. Tsonga then entered Wimbledon. He survived a tough four-set against Andrey Golubev and received a walkover from Simone Bolelli, before losing to Ivo Karlovi of Croatia. At the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C, Tsonga lost to the American John Isner in the second round. Tsonga made his debut at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Canada. He defeated Rainer Schttler and Gilles Simon. In the quarterfinals, he overcame World No. 1 Roger Federer, coming back from an injury timeout after winning the first set by a dive-volley, as well as being 15 down in the third set. He advanced to the semifinals, where he lost to Andy Murray in straight sets. At the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Tsonga made an early exit from the singles category, unexpectedly losing to World No. 124 Chris Guccione of Australia. In doubles, Tsonga and Michal Llodra lost to Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles in the quarterfinals. The US Open started well with victories over Chase Buchanan, Jarkko Nieminen, and Julien Benneteau. However, Tsonga lost to 11th seed ChileanFernando Gonzlez in the fourth round. Tsonga then represented France at the Davis Cup playoff round against the Netherlands. Tsonga defeated the Jesse Huta Galung Thiemo de Bakker in singles and, with partner Michal Llodra, won in doubles over Thiemo de Bakker and Igor Sijsling, wrapping up the tie 41. Tsonga then entered the PTT Thailand Open, where he was the defending champion and top see, as Rafael Nadal withdrew just days before the tournament began. After two close matches, Tsonga crashed out to the young Serbian Viktor Troicki in the semifinals. Tsonga also competed in the doubles category with Fabrice Santoro, but

they lost to Mischa Zverev and Guillermo Garca-Lpez in the semifinals. At the Japan Open in Tokyo, Tsonga defeated Mischa Zverev, Richard Gasquet, Ernests Gulbis, and Gal Monfils to reach the final. There, he beat Mikhail Youzhny in just over an hour to clinch his third title of the season and his first-ever ATP World Tour 500 title. In the doubles category, Tsonga paired with Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, but they were defeated in the second round. Next up was a trip to China and the Shanghai Masters. Tsonga defeated Zeng ShaoXuan, but lost to Robin Sderling in the third round. In doubles, paired with Julien Benneteau, Tsonga made it to the finals, where they beat sixth seeded Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski to win their first-ever ATP Masters 1000 doubles title. After two disappointing tournaments at Lyon and theValencia Open, Tsonga entered the Paris Masters, where he was the defending champion. He had wins over Albert Montas and Gilles Simon, but lost to World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. Tsonga ended his 2009 season staying in the top 10 for the second year in a row.

2010
Tsonga switched his rackets to Babolat (previously using Wilson) and started his 2010 season at the AAMI Kooyong Classic, after recovering from a wrist injury. After two wins and a walkover, he lost to Fernando Verdasco in the final. At the 2010 Australian Open, Tsonga beat Sergiy Stakhovsky, Taylor Dent, Tommy Haas, and Nicols Almagro. In the quarterfinals, he beat world no. 3Novak Djokovic, in his second five-set match. Tsonga's fatigue soon took a toll on him, however, as he was badly beaten in the semifinals by no. 1 Roger Federer. Tsonga then entered Open 13 in Marseilles, France. He had two wins, but lost against Julien Benneteau in the semifinal, ending his title defense. Despite plans of not playing at the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships, he accepted a wildcard and became the fifth seed in the tournament. He had a win against Michal Llodra, who retired due to injury, but then struggled with form and lost to Ivan Ljubii in the second round. The Davis Cup was next against Germany. In the singles, Tsonga helped France take an unassailable 30 lead, by winning the second-rubber match againstBenjamin Becker, but was forced to retire against Simon Greul due to a recurring injury. At the 2010 BNP Paribas Open, Tsonga lost to Robin Sderling in the fourth round. He was seeded eighth at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. He beat Guillermo Garca-Lpez, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and 12th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero, before losing to second seed Rafael Nadal, after blowing eight break-point opportunities. Tsonga then made his debut at the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. He had a win over Nicols Almagro, but was edged out in an exciting match against Juan Carlos Ferrero. After nursing an injury, Tsonga entered the 2010 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell. After wins over Jan Hjek and Nicols Almagro, he was stunned by Dutch youngster Thiemo de Bakker in the quarterfinals. Tsonga made it all the way to the quarterfinals at the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, but was beaten by 13th seed David Ferrer. At the 2010 Mutua Madrilea Madrid Open, he was forced to retire in the opening round against Guillermo Garca-Lpez. Seeded eighth at the 2010 French Open, Tsonga defeated Daniel Brands, in five sets, Josselin Ouanna, and Thiemo de Bakker. Unfortunately, in the fourth round, Tsonga had to withdraw after losing the first set against Mikhail Youzhny, due to the

progressive regional back pain from the previous round. Scans showed that Tsonga had sustained a right hip injury. In a tune-up event to Wimbledon, at the Boodles Challenge exhibition tournament, Tsonga had wins against Nikolay Davydenko and Philipp Kohlschreiber. The All England Club was Tsonga's next stop, and he was seeded tenth. He had tough wins over Robert Kendrick and Alexandr Dolgopolov, before easier victories over Tobias Kamke and Julien Benneteau. However, in the quarterfinals, he eventually fell to home favorite Andy Murray in four sets. Not long after his Wimbledon campaign, Jo suffered a heavy knee injury. It caused him to withdraw from all the US Open Series events, including the US Open. He made his return in October for his title defense at the 2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships as the third seed, but rustiness was apparent, and he lost early to Jarkko Nieminen. Entering the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters 1000 as the 12th seed, Tsonga had wins over Feliciano Lpez, Sam Querrey, and Florian Mayer, before losing in the quarterfinals in straight sets to eventual champion Andy Murray. He then entered the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, but lost against Viktor Troicki in the second round. A week later, Tsonga made a semifinal appearance at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, but was beaten by Gal Monfils for the first time. During the week in Montpellier, Tsonga re-aggravated his knee problem. He missed the Paris Masters, as well as the important French Davis Cup final against Serbia. It was a tough end to the season for Tsonga, as he finished the season outside the top 10 for the first time in three years, compiled a 3116 win-loss record (his worst tally since 2007), and failed to reach a single final during the season.[19]

2011
Tsonga started his ATP season with an exhibition tournament at Abu Dhabi. However, Tsonga suffered a loss to Arkadiusz Kocyla, but later told the press that being out of tennis for several months last season has made him hungry and determined. At the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, he defeated Rubn Ramrez Hidalgo, Sergei Bubka, and Guillermo Garca-Lpez, before losing to Roger Federer in the semifinal. The AAMI Kooyong Classic had Tsonga losing early to Jrgen Melzer. Tsonga then entered the 2011 Australian Open. After a thrilling win over Philipp Petzschner and breezing past Andreas Seppi, Tsonga lost to Alexandr Dolgopolov in five sets. The third round exit marked Tsonga's worst performance at the Australian Open since 2007. Tsonga then participated in the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He defeated Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, Michal Llodra, and Ivan Ljubii to reach his first final since winning the Japan Open in 2009, but lost there to Robin Sderling. At the Open 13 tennis tournament, Tsonga lost to Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals. A day later, he declared that he had sustained another ankle injury, which again put him out of Davis Cup action against Austria. Tsonga fell in the opening round at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open. At the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, as the 15th seed, Tsonga's poor form continued. He managed to get a win over Teymuraz Gabashvili, but fell to Alexandr Dolgopolov in a match that lasted two days. Afterwards, Tsonga announced that he and his longtime coach Eric Winogradsky had decided to part ways after working together for seven years. At the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, he had a win over Juan Mnaco, but was beaten by Ivan Ljubii in round two. Then came a first-

round loss at the 2011 Estoril Open. Tsonga then found some form at the 2011 Mutua Madrid Open, beating first-time top-10 debutant Nicols Almagro, before losing to Robin Sderling in the third round. At the 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, he beat juniors rival Marcos Baghdatis, but lost to Roger Federer in the second round. Tsonga was 19th seed heading into the French Open. He beat both Jan Hjek and Igor Andreev in straight sets and made it to the third round, where he was defeated by 14th seed Stanislas Wawrinka. At the 2011 Aegon Championships in London, Tsonga received a first-round bye, then beat Michael Berrer and world no. 1 Rafael Nadal, while moving through to the semifinals for the first time in a grass tournament. In the semifinals, he defeated British wildcard James Ward, but he let slip a healthy lead into a disappointing loss against Andy Murray in the final.[20] Just 24 hours later, he arrived at the 2011 Aegon International in Eastbourne as the top seed. In his opening round, he defeated Denis Istomin, but, apparently fatigued, he lost to Radek tpnek in round two. At the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, he defeated Go Soeda, Grigor Dimitrov, Fernando Gonzlez, and David Ferrer. In the quarterfinals, he stunned the Centre Court crowd by coming from two sets down to defeat Roger Federer. This handed Federer his first loss in a Grand Slam after leading two sets to love, while handing Tsonga only his second win in coming back from two sets down.[21] In the semifinals, however, despite serving for the first set and saving three match points in the third-set tiebreak, he eventually lost to second seed and eventual champion Novak Djokovic in four sets. At the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Tsonga defeated Fabio Fognini, Bernard Tomic, Roger Federer, and Nicols Almagro, to set up a Wimbledon semifinal rematch against Novak Djokovic. After trailing 46, 03, Tsonga retired due to an arm problem. At the 2011 Western & Southern Open, Tsonga defeated Marin ili, but lost to American qualifier Alex Bogomolov, Jr.. At the US Open, he defeated Lu Yenhsun, Sergei Bubka, Fernando Verdasco, and Mardy Fish. He again met Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, but this time Federer swept him aside in three sets. Tsonga teamed up with Michal Llodra to notch an impressive victory over Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lpez in Davis Cup play against Spain, but then was crushed by Rafael Nadal in his fourth singles rubber, as France lost the tie against Spain 14. Tsonga played at the 2011 Open de Moselle, where he was the topseeded player. He defeated Mathieu Rodrigues and Nicolas Mahut, and in the semifinals he ended a two-match losing streak against Alexandr Dolgopolov. In the final, Tsonga fought past Ivan Ljubii in three sets to win the tournament; his first title in almost two years since his triumph in Tokyo. Tsonga, again as a top seed, played at the 2011 China Open for the first time since 2007. He opened with wins over Grigor Dimitrov, Zhang Ze, and Juan Carlos Ferrero. As expected, his semifinals match against Tom Berdych was extremely difficult. Berdych took the first set and Tsonga the second, but Tsonga could not withstand Berdych's growing confidence in a three-set loss. Tsonga was fourth seed for the 2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters. Tsonga lost his first match to Kei Nishikori. Vienna was the next destination for Tsonga in the 2011 Erste Bank Open. Victories over Jarkko Nieminen, Xavier Malisse, and Daniel Brands set up a final against Juan Martn del Potro. The first set was tight with del Potro taking it in a tie-break, but Tsonga prevailed in sets two and three for his second title of the season. Just two days after his victory in Vienna, Tsonga played his first-round match at the 2011 Valencia Open 500 as second seed. He lost in round two to Sam Querrey.

As expected, the home crowd warmed to Jo from the start of the 2011 BNP Paribas Masters. Tsonga had wins over Guillermo Garca-Lpez, Andreas Seppi, and John Isner, which set up a final against Roger Federer. Federer stormed through the first set and then won a tiebreak in the second to take the title. As a result of his exploits in the Paris Masters, he qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Tsonga fell to Federer, beat Mardy Fish, and defeated Rafael Nadal to make it to the semifinals. A win over Tom Berdych sent Tsonga to the finals of the year-end championships for the first time in his career. In the final, Tsonga fought bravely, but came up short once again against Roger Federer. Tsonga finished the year matching his 2008 career-high ranking of world no. 6. 2012[edit]

Tsonga at the London 2012 Olympic men's singles quarterfinal Just before 2012 began, Tsonga participated in the Abu Dhabi exhibition tournament in late December 2011, where he lost a match againstDavid Ferrer. Tsonga then began his 2012 season at the 2012 Qatar Open as third seed. Three wins set up a meeting against Roger Federerin the semifinals. However, Federer announced an unexpected withdrawal from the tournament due to a back problem, which gave Tsonga a walkover into the final. In the final, he won against Gal Monfils and was named champion of the 2012 Qatar Open. Jo-Wilfried then played in the 2012 AAMI Classic exhibition tournament and lost the two matches he played. A week later, Tsonga had wins over Denis Istomin, Ricardo Mello, and Frederico Gil to make the round of 16 at the 2012 Australian Open. However, against Japanese rookie Kei Nishikori, Tsonga lost a close five set match. Tsonga took some time off before entering the 2012 Open 13. Two routine wins placed him in the semifinalss against Juan Martn del Potro, where he lost in three sets. Next on the calendar was the2012 Dubai Tennis Championships. Tsonga, seeded fourth, defeated Marcos Baghdatis and Luk Rosol, but lost once again to del Potro.

The first Masters Series of the season, the 2012 BNP Paribas Open was disappointing. A retirement by Michal Llodra and a win over Radek tpnek preceded a loss to David Nalbandian, after holding a match point. At the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open, four easy wins paved the way to a quarterfinal encounter with Rafael Nadal. Tsonga fought hard, but it was not quite enough, as Nadal battled to a three-set win. In Davis Cupplay, Tsonga beat Ryan Harrison and lost to John Isner. France was eliminated from the event. The start of the clay-court run was next at the 2012 MonteCarlo Rolex Masters. The results were wins against Philipp Kohlschreiber and Fernando Verdasco and a loss againstGilles Simon. The 2012 BMW Open yielded a first-round loss to Tommy Haas. The 2012 Mutua Madrid Open was similar, with a second round loss to Alexandr Dolgopolov. The 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia followed. Two solid victories against Viktor Troicki and Juan Martn del Potroset up a loss to top seed Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. Tsonga's French Open 2012 started off in shaky fashion after dropping the first set to Russian qualifier Andrey Kuznetsov. However, he closed out the match and then had wins over Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, Fabio Fognini, and Stanislas Wawrinka. In the quarterfinals against Novak Djokovic, he lost in five sets.[22] The grass-court season began with the Aegon Championships. He defeated Britain's Jamie Baker, but was ousted by Ivan Dodig in three extremely tight sets. He also suffered a finger injury in the loss after diving for a ball. In the days leading up to Wimbledon, it was announced that he had a severely sprained finger, but would still compete. This proved to be a good tournament for Tsonga, with wins over Lleyton Hewitt, Guillermo Garca-Lpez, Luk Lacko, Mardy Fish, and Philipp Kohlschreiber. He then faced Andy Murray for a place in the final, but despite managing to fight back to take the third set, Tsonga was ousted by the world no. 4. The 2012 London Olympics was next up for Tsonga. His victory over Milos Raonic in the second round became the longest ever (in number of games played) at the Olympics.[23] Fatigue, surprisingly, did not appear to affect Jo-Wilfried in the third round. He eased into the quarterfinals over Feliciano Lpez, but lost to world no. 2 Novak Djokovic. In Olympic doubles, Tsonga represented France alongside Michal Llodra. Argentinians David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank were the French pair's first-round opponents, and Llodra and Tsonga dispatched them comfortably. Next was a win over Leander Paes and Vishnu Vardhan. Against Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares in the quarterfinals the French pair kept their momentum going, easing to a two set victory for a semifinal berth. Against the Spaniards Lpez and David Ferrer, both teams stood strong, but the Frenchmen did not falter as they took the match 1816 in the third set. In the finals, they were matched against top seeds, Mike Bryan and his brother Bob. The Americans won in two sets, and the French pair were presented with Olympic silver medals. Jo-Wilfried's Rogers Cup campaign was an extremely short affair with a secondround loss to fellow Frenchman Jrmy Chardy. He also crashed out in the second round of the 2012 US Open, with a defeat to no. 52 Martin Klian. After a short break for recovery, Jo was back in France for the 2012 Moselle Open. Tsonga rolled to a semifinal birth with Russian Nikolay Davydenko. The Frenchman had never beaten Davydenko in two previous attempts, but made sure that run was not extended to three with a tight three-set win. The final was an easy two-set win over Andreas Seppi, Tsonga's ninth ATP career title.

At the 2012 China Open, Tsonga had a bye, a win, and a walkover before beating Mikhail Youzhny in the quarter-inals. An easy win over Feliciano Lpez advanced Tsonga to his third final of the year. World no. 2 Novak Djokovic was his opponent. Djokovic pulled away in the second, taking the match in two sets. Tsonga continued his year with the 2012 Shanghai Masters. He had wins over Benot Paire and Marcos Baghdatis, but he lost in the quarterfinals to Tom Berdych in straight sets. The busy schedule continued in Stockholm. Tsonga cruised past Go Soeda and Sergiy Stakhovsky in the opening rounds, and had Baghdatis retire against him after a close semifinal match. This set up a final against Tom Berdych the second time in two weeks. Despite being a set and a break up, JoWilfried succumbed to fatigue and personal pressures and lost in three sets. At the Valencia Open, Tsonga retired against Xavier Malisse. The Race To London was almost decided. Jo-Wilfried needed a quarterfinal appearance in Paris to secure it for certain. Tsonga came through an extremely tight encounter with Julien Benneteau and then beat Spaniard Nicols Almagro, securing his place in the ATP World Tour Finals. Jo-Wilfried fell to David Ferrer in the quarterfinals. The World Tour Finals found Tsonga with a new coach, Roger Rasheed. Novak Djokovic was his first round-robin opponent and Tsonga lost in two sets. Two more losses to Tom Berdych and Andy Murray ended his season.

2013
Rather than entering an ATP-recognised event, Jo-Wilfried opted for the 2013 Hopman Cup. He was paired with Mathilde Johansson. France first faced Spain. Tsonga defeated Fernando Verdasco, but Johansson lost her singles, and the pair lost the doubles. Tsonga next played USA. Jo demolished John Isner, but in similar fashion, Johansson lost to Venus Williams, and the pair lost to the Americans in the mixed doubles. Lastly, France faced South Africa. Tsonga beat Kevin Anderson, before Johansson lost to Chanelle Scheepers, and the pair were forced to retire in the doubles with Jo-Wilfried injured. France finished bottom of their group, but despite the injury, Jo was declared fit for the 2013 Australian Open, where he reached the quarterfinals but lost a thrilling five setter against Roger Federer. In Rotterdam, he made a surprising first-round exit against young Dutchman Igor Sijsling. Tsonga then played in the Open 13 in Marseille. In the quarterfinals, Tsonga saved five match points to edge Bernard Tomic, and then rolled over his countryman Gilles Simon in the semifinals. In the final, Tsonga saved a match point and overcame top seed Tom Berdych in three sets for his 10th ATP World Tour title. At the French Open, Tsonga gained a decisive straight-set quarterfinal victory against Roger Federer, making Tsonga the first French player to reach the semifinals since Gael Monfils in 2008, as well as only the second player after Rafael Nadal to have beaten Federer at both Wimbledon and Roland Garros. Tsonga was then defeated in straight sets by David Ferrer. Following a run to the semifinals at Queen's, where he lost to the eventual champion, Andy Murray, Tsonga then competed at Wimbledon, where he was a twotime semifinalist. He retired in the second round against Ernests Gulbis. He missed the entire North American swing, including the US Open for the second time in four years, due to the injury.[24]