Tsonga hits out at Open organizers
Source: Agencies |
May 27, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
JO-WILFRIED Tsonga urged French Open organizers to extend him the same kind of courtesy granted to Britain's Andy Murray at Wimbledon after his preparations were upset by unexpectedly playing a day early.
Tsonga, seeded eighth in Paris, asked organizers if he could start his Roland Garros campaign either on Monday or Tuesday but his request was turned down and the burly right-hander made his bow on Sunday's low-key opening day program.
"We are in France. I'm French. I'm French No. 1. I would have thought it was legitimate for me to be listened to, that I would be given a choice. They should listen to me when I wanted to play or start," Tsonga told reporters after his 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 second-round win over compatriot Josselin Ouanna yesterday.
"I had asked not to play on a Sunday because I had practised in such a way that I thought I wanted to play on a Monday or Tuesday, to be totally fit.
"But they imposed it on me. If you're world No. 80 and you're not that important in the hierarchy, if I can say, loads of things are imposed on you in this case.
"What really bothered me is that, you know, if you look at (Andy) Murray, if he decides on a day or hour at Wimbledon, nobody is going to impose anything on him."
Organizers were not available for comment.
Fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet also had his request for an extra day off denied by organizers and played his first-round match against Briton Murray on Monday, just two days after beating Fernando Verdasco in the Open de Nice final.
Gasquet won the first two sets in dazzling fashion before running out of steam, bowing out after a five-set battle.
"24 hours (of recuperation), it's important. It would have made a difference but I knew I could play either on Monday or Tuesday," said Gasquet.
"I needed some luck. I did not get any."
That kind of bad luck would not strike Roger Federer or other top names in the sport, according to Tsonga.
"For Federer in his country it's the same," he said.
"In the US I suppose it's the same thing for the best American players. I expected a bit more from the organizers."
On the courts yesterday, Federer endured one tense set and two rain delays before eliminating Alejandro Falla of Colombia 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4 in the second round.
Federer lost serve just once against Falla, at 5-all in the opening set, but broke back and hit four winners in the tiebreaker. From there only rain could slow Federer - the match was stopped for 15 minutes in the second set and for an hour in the third.
Federer, who completed a career grand slam when he won in Paris last year, is seeking his 17th major title.
No. 5-seeded Robin Soderling won 20 of the first 22 points and went on to beat unseeded American Taylor Dent 6-0, 6-1, 6-1. The Swede, who upset Rafael Nadal last year and then lost to Federer in the final, has lost seven games through two matches.
Other men's winners included No. 10 Marin Cilic and No. 11 Mikhail Youzhny before rain interrupted the day's play for a second time.
Croat Cilic swept Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2, and Russian Youzhny rallied Lukas Lacko of Slovakia 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.
Venus Williams beat Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain 6-2, 6-4, improving to a 14-2 on clay in 2010. She's seeded second at Roland Garros behind younger sister Serena, who scouted from behind the baseline, sitting next to their father. The sisters could meet in the final.
In other women's play, No. 26 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia rallied past Varvara Lepchenko of the US 4-6, 6-2, 6-0. Cibulkova, a semifinalist last year, faces Venus next.
Russian Nadia Petrova, seeded 19th, beat Agnes Szavay of Hungary 6-1, 6-2. No. 14 Flavia Pennetta defeated fellow Italian Roberta Vinci 6-1, 6-1.
Tsonga, seeded eighth in Paris, asked organizers if he could start his Roland Garros campaign either on Monday or Tuesday but his request was turned down and the burly right-hander made his bow on Sunday's low-key opening day program.
"We are in France. I'm French. I'm French No. 1. I would have thought it was legitimate for me to be listened to, that I would be given a choice. They should listen to me when I wanted to play or start," Tsonga told reporters after his 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 second-round win over compatriot Josselin Ouanna yesterday.
"I had asked not to play on a Sunday because I had practised in such a way that I thought I wanted to play on a Monday or Tuesday, to be totally fit.
"But they imposed it on me. If you're world No. 80 and you're not that important in the hierarchy, if I can say, loads of things are imposed on you in this case.
"What really bothered me is that, you know, if you look at (Andy) Murray, if he decides on a day or hour at Wimbledon, nobody is going to impose anything on him."
Organizers were not available for comment.
Fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet also had his request for an extra day off denied by organizers and played his first-round match against Briton Murray on Monday, just two days after beating Fernando Verdasco in the Open de Nice final.
Gasquet won the first two sets in dazzling fashion before running out of steam, bowing out after a five-set battle.
"24 hours (of recuperation), it's important. It would have made a difference but I knew I could play either on Monday or Tuesday," said Gasquet.
"I needed some luck. I did not get any."
That kind of bad luck would not strike Roger Federer or other top names in the sport, according to Tsonga.
"For Federer in his country it's the same," he said.
"In the US I suppose it's the same thing for the best American players. I expected a bit more from the organizers."
On the courts yesterday, Federer endured one tense set and two rain delays before eliminating Alejandro Falla of Colombia 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4 in the second round.
Federer lost serve just once against Falla, at 5-all in the opening set, but broke back and hit four winners in the tiebreaker. From there only rain could slow Federer - the match was stopped for 15 minutes in the second set and for an hour in the third.
Federer, who completed a career grand slam when he won in Paris last year, is seeking his 17th major title.
No. 5-seeded Robin Soderling won 20 of the first 22 points and went on to beat unseeded American Taylor Dent 6-0, 6-1, 6-1. The Swede, who upset Rafael Nadal last year and then lost to Federer in the final, has lost seven games through two matches.
Other men's winners included No. 10 Marin Cilic and No. 11 Mikhail Youzhny before rain interrupted the day's play for a second time.
Croat Cilic swept Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2, and Russian Youzhny rallied Lukas Lacko of Slovakia 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.
Venus Williams beat Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain 6-2, 6-4, improving to a 14-2 on clay in 2010. She's seeded second at Roland Garros behind younger sister Serena, who scouted from behind the baseline, sitting next to their father. The sisters could meet in the final.
In other women's play, No. 26 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia rallied past Varvara Lepchenko of the US 4-6, 6-2, 6-0. Cibulkova, a semifinalist last year, faces Venus next.
Russian Nadia Petrova, seeded 19th, beat Agnes Szavay of Hungary 6-1, 6-2. No. 14 Flavia Pennetta defeated fellow Italian Roberta Vinci 6-1, 6-1.
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