Jo-Wilfried Tsonga returns to his career-high number six spot in ATP Rankings
France’s number one tennis player, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, regained his career-high ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Ranking of number six on Monday. The Frenchman climbed up two places to become the world number six in the latest release of ATP World Rankings for this week.
26-year-old Tsonga had a magnificent 2011 ATP season so far and has already booked a place in the circuit grand finale, the ATP World Tour Finals, to be played in London later his month. He has been the sixth most successful player of the year, winning 52 out of 74 singles matches he played.
6ft 2in tall French took off the current season as the world number 13 but his sloppy performances in the early events dropped him to number 22 by the month of May. Tsonga lifted up his game from there onwards and his sheer determination earned him his rightful place among the top-ranked male tennis players in the world by November.
Tsonga won two ATP championship titles this year, extending his title count to seven, and defeated a number of superior ranked players to prove his dominance. Besides his title victories, his two most noticeable wins of the season were against the former world number one, the Swiss maestro, Roger Federer. Tsonga was the finalist at the last Masters Series event of the season, the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, France, losing to Federer in straight sets but earned 600 ranking points to climb to the sixth spot in the world rankings.
Tsonga’s first tournament participation of 2011 resulted in a semi-final loss to Federer in Doha, followed by a defeat at the hands of Robin Soderling in the final at Rotterdam. He put up ordinary performances in Marseille, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Estoril to fall to the 22nd spot in the world rankings. It was then that the Frenchman upped his game to make his way back in the Top-10 with his amazing tennis skills.
Despite defeating the world number one, Rafael Nadal, in the quarter-final, the French squandered away a title opportunity at the Queen’s Club, London, losing to the world number four, Andy Murray, in the final. Tsonga surprised Federer in the quarter-final clash of Wimbledon Championships but was fell to the second seed Djokovic after a stiff contest in the semis.
He finally bagged a championship title on his home ground, defeating Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic in the final at Metz to become the world number seven. Tsonga was also victorious against Juan Martin Del Potro in the final at Vienna but lost to Federer in the final of the Paris Masters to reach the world number six spot.
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