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Tsonga retires from tennis in tears after falling to

Between tears and depleted by physical problems, the French Jo-Wilfried The Best Of Jo-Wilfried37, closed almost two decades of his career in the elite with a first-round loss to the Norwegian Kasper Ruudwho won 6-7 (6), 7-6 (4), 6-2 and 7-6 (0) in three hours and 49 minutes.

Tsonga, who was number 5 in the world, 2008 Australian Open finalist, 2017 Davis Cup winner and 2017 18 ATP titles -including two Masters 1,000-, said goodbye with a defeat that sold face witnessed by the thousands of spectators gathered on the main court of the Roland Garros, the Philippe Chatrier.

At the farewell ceremony, held on the pitch, were, among other authorities, the new Minister of Sports of France, Amelie Oudea-Castera, the president of the French Tennis Federation, Gilles Moretton, as well as his parents, wife and two daughters. French tennis players of his generation, such as Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils and Gilles Simon, also attended the tribute. And other younger ones, like Benjamin Bonzi or Benoit Paire.

A professional for 18 years, the tennis player from Le Mans he was currently number 220 in the world and hasn’t won an ATP title since 2019. “In my life I have had to deal with those who told me that I would never amount to anything. I proved the opposite”he said while reading a prepared speech, with which he tried to contain his emotion.

Tsonga spoke of his complex relationship with the media, which he thanked for helping him mature. “One day he was a hero, another a villainanother day he was a white, another a black son of a Congolese”, evoked the tennis player, who assured that what changed his life the most was being a father.

The three greats of world tennis, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, They left a recorded video message discussing Tsonga’s “charisma” and appreciating the contribution he made to the world of tennis.

In the tribute video projected by the French Federation, several of the great moments of the 1,002 parties in the professional circuit of Tsonga, among them his victories against the “big three”.

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