Players biding for the 2012 US Open Championships: (Part Two) – Tennis Special
So as I was citing in the previous part that US Open is not just a tournament itself, but it contains the allure of gaining a spot in the season-ending grand finale, the ATP World Tour Finals in London’s prestigious O2 Arena. With
a field of 128 top-class players from all corners of the world, it is really an achievement of sorts to lift a Grand Slam trophy but only the best in the business are entitled to get their hands on such glory. The glorious Flushing Meadows Arena will host
the tennis titans once again in August but a number of underdog opponent s will also step on the hard courts of New York to find some touch of splendour.
France has been quite dray in the field of tennis and not many big names have come to the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) from this part of the world. Athletes like Gael Monfils made a promising start to the professional
tennis but with a career stained with niggling injuries, he couldn’t have a great impact on the Tour. However, another Frenchman has been up there in the Top-10 for quite some time now and is labouring extremely hard to make his place among the best in the
business.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – France
6ft 2in tall powerhouse, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, has been the hearth robe of French tennis for the last one decade but has still not achieved his dream of becoming the world number one player. The 27-year-old has gone up to the fifth
rank in the ATP World Rankings but couldn’t break into the ‘Fantastic-Four’ (Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray) to fall short of his ambition.
Currently holding the sixth spot in the world, Tsonga is one of the most belligerent contenders on the ATP World Tour. Known for his destructive serve and power-hitting, the French number one is deemed to be extremely tough to
handle on faster playing surfaces. His tall height and extended arms add further firepower to his serve and he keeps hitting unplayable aces at will to frustrate his opponents comprehensively.
Despite of eight championship titles in his bag, including one ATP Masters Series trophy, Tsonga is yet to win his maiden Grand Slam gold. He had his priceless opportunity in 2008 when he stunned the then world number two, Rafael
Nadal, in the semi-final to reach the title match of the Australian Open. His dreams were crushed in the final and Novak Djokovic of Serbia lifted the coveted trophy.
Tsonga is eyeing to repeat a similar sort of run at the US Open this season but he is desperate to end his title drought at the Grand Slams. His best run so far at the Flushing Meadows came last year when he made it through to
the quarter-finals, only to be defeated at the hands of the Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer. He has been the quarter-finalist at Roland Garros and the semi-finalist at the Wimbledon Championships this year. I am pretty sure that he will again reach the semis
of the US Open this season and secure a berth at the ATP World Tour Finals.
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