Though player draws have yet to be mapped out and matchups are uncertain, there is a chance Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will not make it as far as many fans would like the Frenchman to go as the 2013 French Open swings around.
The truth is, Tsonga is playing tennis in the worst possible time for Men's Singles. He's a tremendous talent, but the sport is dominated by three men, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Andy Murray won't be an issue in this grand slam tournament as the Scottish has pulled out of contention. However, here are Tsonga's records against these three dominant forces in tennis.
Tsonga vs. the Spaniard
Though Federer has the most grand slam titles from all four of these guys, Nadal has owned the French Open, so it's only fair to start with him. Nadal owns Tsonga. They've meet 11 times and the Spaniard has an 8-3 record against the Frenchman. These two met in the Montecarlo semifinals and Nadal was victorious 6-3, 7-6.
Tsonga vs. the Swiss
It doesn't get better against Federer as Tsonga has a career 3-9 record against the Swiss. These two last met in the first grand slam of the year as Federer had some trouble removing Tsonga from the tournament. This one went the distance, but as usual, Federer held his ground as Tsonga's emotion took the best of him. Federer dispatched Tsonga from the 2013 Australian Open quarterfinals in five sets winning the match 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3.
Tsonga vs. the Serbian
Tsonga's record gets a little better against Djokovic, but the bad part is that he hasn't beat Djokovic in their past six confrontations. The last time Tsonga defeated Djokovic, it was 2011 and they were in the quarterfinals at Paris. However, Tsonga won as Djokovic withdrew from competition. Djokovic owns this matchup with a 10-5 record.
The good news for Tsonga is that he possesses the talent to compete with these guys. Last year, Murray made history in front of hometown supporters as he faced Federer in the finals at Wimbledon. He lost, but it was still a great experience for the Scottish tennis player who later won at the 2012 Olympics and then won his first grand slam in Queens at the U.S. Open.
