Players Under The Microscope / Barry Millns / 04 November 2008 /

The winner of last week's Paris Masters Series has combined athleticism and power to dispose of a number of big names of late and, fitness permitting, could stake a sustained claim for a top five place next season, writes Barry Millns.

Not a bad week's work for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the young Frenchman's Paris Masters Series triumph not only brought him the biggest title of his career so far, but a ticket to the Tennis Masters Cup and entry into the world's Top 10.
As the 23-year-old said after Sunday's spectacular success, anything he achieves in Shanghai will be "icing on the cake".

Had Tsonga not been injured (again) early in the 2008 campaign and forced to undergo knee surgery which kept him out of the French Open and Wimbledon, he would surely have qualified sooner for the end-of-season showpiece and might now be a member of the Top 5. On the evidence of his unexpected run to the Australian Open final back in January and his indoor surge since the US Open that is where he is heading, fitness permitting.

As in Paris so in Melbourne his power and athleticism combined brilliantly to beat three of the world's Top 10. For Andy Murray, who had warmed up for the year's first major by winning Doha, the four set first round loss he suffered against Tsonga was a bitter disappointment, but one which in retrospect was not so bad considering how far the Frenchman then progressed.

From the start Tsonga came at Murray given every opportunity, the the Briton's defensive counter-punching put him under intense pressure which only relented in the third set. Tsonga's fast and furious approaches behind some blistering serves and ground-strokes, combined with dynamic coverage at the net, added up to a whole heap of trouble for the ninth seed.

It was a huge springboard for stunning victories against Richard Gasquet, Mikhail Youzhny and Rafael Nadal. Like Murray they all succumbed to Tsonga's aggressive all-court play, while his emotional exuberance also made him a delight to watch and wowed the crowds throughout, even though Novak Djokovic ultimately managed to stop him.

Fast forward to last week's run in Paris where the Serb was among those who succumbed, having recently done so as well in the final in Bangkok. Again the big first serves and ballistic forehands were very much to the fore in Tsonga's game and having plugged into the home crowd's vociferous support he never lost belief that he could win, especially when he saved ten break points in the second set against Andy Roddick and when defending champion David Nalbandian forced a deciding set in the final.

There is something so positive about Tsonga's style and demeanour that makes him resemble Muhammad Ali in more than just looks, but there is still a long way to go before he too can be called 'The Greatest'. Having already proved himself on hard courts his best chance of becoming a grand slam champion has to be in Melbourne or New York, while Wimbledon, where he reached the fourth round on his debut in 2007, should also suit his powerful game in years to come.

Like Murray, though, if he is to establish himself at the very top he needs to work on his clay court game, particularly his second serve. That is an area which opponents can attack as Roger Federer did when they met in the Madrid Masters, but if Tsonga's serving 25 aces a match as he did against Nalbandian (who has one of the best returns in the game) that is easier said than done!

Judging by the impressive way Tsonga dealt with everything in Paris he is also likely to handle being French No.1 far better than Richard Gasquet did, having proved himself the real deal mentally as well as physically. So can he keep it going in Shanghai after a long flight and later arrival than the rest?

As things stand Tsonga is currently trading as fifth favourite at [6.4] behind Federer [2.14], Murray [2.72], Djokovic [3.35] and Nikolay Davydenko [5.1]. On balance I think that is about right but it is fair to say all will be very wary if he is drawn in their group.

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