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Tsonga the showman

01/27/2010 09:23:02 AM

Win or lose his semi-final against world No.1 Roger Federer on Friday night, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has again captivated tennis fans the world over with another superb run at the Australian Open, the showman doing wonders for his sport with both his play and his demeanour.

The 24-year-old Frenchman's enthusiasm when things are going well on the court is infectious and people find themselves watching him when things are going wrong too as he berates himself and generally wears his heart on his sleeve.

While Tsonga loves to be in the spotlight with his aggressive shot-making, he is just as comfortable basking in its glow as he bounds around the court, throws his arms around and lives up to one of his nicknames, 'Ali'.

Tsonga, who has a French mother and Congolese father, bears a striking resemblance to former boxer Muhammad Ali when he was in his prime, and he's not averse to pumping himself up both on the court and off it in much the same way Ali once did.

In a men's game where personality often takes a back seat to the pursuit of excellence, that point best illustrated by the fact that Federer is arguably the greatest male in tennis history but hardly its greatest personality, Tsonga is a breath of fresh air.

That's not to say that Federer doesn't have his fans, indeed he is popular the world over because of his ability but in the personality stakes Tsonga is head and shoulders above his fellow players.

Among the world's current top 20, the only player that really comes close to matching Tsonga in the personality stakes is American veteran Andy Roddick but his magnetic side tends to be confined to when he's winning.

Roddick is also just as capable of turning surly when things are going against him and chair umpires, linespeople and ball kids have all been victims at times of a Roddick tirade, including several years ago at Melbourne Park when a chair umpire was labelled 'Captain Obvious' by the world No.7.

Apart from Roddick though most of the other players - including the likes of Federer's nearest challengers in the rankings Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro and Nikolay Davydenko - can be largely expected to keep their emotions masked in the heat of battle.

Not so for Tsonga, who has now delighted Australian tennis fans and their international counterparts with a second exciting run in three years and from whom more of the same can be expected against Federer and then also in the final if he is to get there again.

 

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