Veteran tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga recently announced his retirement. Roger Federer, was among the first ones to send a classy message to Tsonga after his emotional farewell from tennis.
Roger Federer remembered all the great memories with his fellow French tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as he retired from tennis.
Jo-Wilfred Tsonga who is currently 37 decided to hang up his boots and retire after a glorious 18 year run after he lost out to Casper Rudd in the first round of the French Open with a 6-7(6), 7-6(4), 6-2, 7-6(0) on Tuesday.
Jo-Wilfred Tsonga was a former Wolrd Number 5 and he had made his Grand Slam debut with the French Open, way back in 2005 and he had the honour to end his career on his home soil.
Sadly, Tsonga could never win a major title in his two decades of professional tennis career, however, he was the runner up in 2008 Australian Open and won 18 ATP tour titles.
Roger Federer led the tribute to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Roger Federer clashed a total of 18 times, and their most recent encounter was during the 2019 Halle Open in Germany, which Roger Federer won. Federer and Tsonga were well acquainted with each other on tour and in 2011, they faced each other a total of eight times.
Roger Federer deeply respects Tsonga. Roger Federer on social media stated,
“Congrats Jo Willy on an epic career,”
“It was a pleasure to share the court with you. So many great memories.”
Roger and Tsonga met for the first time on court during the 2008 Madrid Masters, wherein Federer eased past him through a straight-set victory.
Six of their encounters took place at major grand slam tournaments, with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga winning a total of two times during the Wimbledon 2011 and the French Open 2013.
When asked about his career, Tsonga reflected that,
“I always said one of my goals was to inspire kids, inspire other people. I hope I did that during my career,”
“I have been inspired myself by other sportsmen and I know how you feel. I know how you feel when you are a fan of somebody or you admire somebody. It’s a nice feeling.”
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were also among the tennis stars to wish Jo his retirement.
