In-Form Tsonga Ready for Hewitt Clash

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As Lleyton Hewitt looked forward to beginning the defense of his Artois Championships title, the four-time winner said he was hoping to find his rhythm and work his way into the tournament.

However, now that he knows the identity of his second round opponent, rising French star Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the former World No. 1 will have to be in top form from the start.

The big-hitting Tsonga made his way through the qualifying draw here at The Queen’s Club, and immediately after booking his place in the main draw against Kristian Pless, rushed off to Surbiton later on Sunday afternoon and defeated former finalist Ivo Karlovic to claim the Challenger title.

Now he faces the prospect a Centre Court meeting with Hewitt, and it’s an opportunity the 22-year-old from Le Mans is relishing. “I will play my game and try to be stronger than him,” said Tsonga. “I know it will be difficult, but I will try. I’m very excited because I know he’s a player with a lot of character and I like that. Maybe it will be a good show.”

Having disposed of Pless 7-6(2), 6-0 in just an hour on Tuesday, Tsonga comes into his meeting with Hewitt having won nine consecutive matches on grass. Not only that, he’s only lost one of his past 30 matches since March – a run that began with Futures success in France and included Challenger titles in Tallahassee, Mexico City and Lanzarote before arriving in Surbiton. His recent performances have catapulted the Frenchman 91 places this year in the ATP rankings to a career-high No. 121.

“I’ve played well for a long time,” said Tsonga after his victory over Pless. “I’ve worked a lot and I think it’s been good for me. I played very well the weeks before Queen’s and I’m just enjoying every day step by step.”

Despite having had very little experience on grass, Tsonga has had very good results on the surface. As a junior, he reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2003 and in the three tournaments he’s played on grass as a professional, he has won two of them – including his first appearance in Nottingham Challenger in 2004, when he qualified and then defeated Jonathan Marray, Andy Murray, Mark Hilton and Alex Bogdanovic, all without dropping a set.

“I like to play on grass, use my big serve, go to the net,” said Tsonga. “I like to hit the ball hard, so I like it.”

Tsonga, whose father Didier was an international handball player for Congo, will hope to build on his recent performances and qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon for the first time, which he says is a dream of his. “It will be very special for me because it’s the history of tennis, which is just unbelievable,” said Tsonga. “I’m very excited to play there.”