In the current ATP professional tennis world, among the "Big Four" members, Nadal was born in 1986, and Djokovic and Murray were both born in 1987.
In other words, this group of players is in their prime period, and players of the same age group are no exception, showing a comprehensive blowout.
France has such a group of players from the golden era. At their peak in 2014, they occupied three seats in the top ten in the world.
Tsonga, Monfils, Gasquet, and Simon are the core members.
Among them, Tsonga, who was born in 1985, is undoubtedly the most representative and recognized one. From talent to character, from achievements to strength, he is strong in all aspects.
As early as 2008, Tsonga, who was ranked 38th in the world at the time, became famous in the Australian Open as an unseeded player.
He upset Murray in the first round, and then eliminated Gasquet, Youzhny and Nadal along the way. He defeated four of the top ten players in the world to reach the finals, and in the finals against Djokovic, he first In the next set, it was a pity that they suffered a reversal and missed the championship.
At the end of the same year, Tsonga won the Paris Masters.
At that time, neither Djokovic nor Murray had fully grown up, and the concept of "giants" did not exist at all. It was still the era of "Federer VS Nadal". In people's eyes, Tsonga and Djokovic and Murray are potential giant players who grow and improve together.
Later, in the 2014 Toronto Masters, Tsonga defeated Murray, Djokovic and Federer to win the championship. He also became the first person in the past ten years to defeat three giants in the same event to win the championship. Player, that feat alone is something to write home about.
Later, at the Australian Open at the beginning of this year, Gauvin completed this feat in the Grand Slam arena, defeating Nadal, Murray and Djokovic to win the championship. This also established in one fell swoop that Gauvin became a leader of the new generation. status, but overall, Gawain is still a little "immature" compared to Tsonga——
It mainly refers to time.
Gao Wen rose to prominence quickly in less than a year and lacked a foundation; while Tsonga has continuously proven himself over the years.
Previously, a record was mentioned:
First of all, in the Grand Slam arena, there are only four players with winning records against the three giants Federer, Nadal and Djokovic:
Murray, Wawrinka, Berdych, Tsonga.
Secondly, when the three giants ranked first in the ATP world, there were only three players who had defeated them:
Murray, Del Potro, Tsonga.
In the end, if the above two records intersect, then only Murray and Tsonga will accomplish such a feat.
It is precisely because of this that Murray has been considered the "Big Four" for a long time, while Tsonga is considered the strongest player outside the "Big Four".
Looking at it from another perspective, Murray, Wawrinka and Del Potro have all reached the Grand Slam championship and left their names in the long history. Among them, Murray has reached the top of the world; therefore, Berdych and Tsonga have always been considered "the strongest players who have not won a Grand Slam championship."
There is a data that can give a glimpse of some proof, "The player who has defeated the Big Four the most times as of 2021"——
Wawrinka, 21 times, defeated Federer three times, Nadal three times, Djokovic six times and Murray nine times.
Del Potro, 20 times, defeated Federer seven times, Nadal six times, Djokovic four times, and Murray three times.
Berdych, nineteen times, beat Federer six times, Nadal four times, Djokovic three times and Murray six times.
Tsonga, eighteen times, beat Federer six times, Nadal four times, Djokovic six times and Murray twice.
It's clear at a glance.
Of course, in addition to this, players such as Cilic, Kei Nishikori, Dimitrov, Simon, etc. have also performed well in defeating the Big Four; among the new generation players, Kyrgios, Tsitsipas, Zwillie Jr. Players such as Husband and Medvedev have also accomplished such a feat, but when their times are added up, none of them reach double digits.
The only exception is Tim.
As of 2021, Tim has defeated the Big Four a total of 19 times, defeating Federer five times, Nadal six, Djokovic six, and Murray twice.
Here, the data can explain a lot.
No wonder people always say they were born at the wrong time. Although Berdych and Tsonga have never won a Grand Slam, there is no doubt about their strength.
Moreover, Berdych emerged in 2007 and Tsonga emerged in 2008. The golden period of the two players' careers basically overlapped perfectly with the peak period of the Big Four, but they were still able to achieve such outstanding results. This is enough to show that They're excellent.
To a certain extent, Berdych and Tsonga can be seen as two sides of the tennis game, representing two styles:
Berdych is disciplined, calm and solid.
Tsonga, passion, violence, thickness.
In Berdych's games, there is often a lack of passion. His skills and abilities have reached their peak, but he has never been able to break through the shackles.
In direct contrast, Tsonga is hot enough and explosive enough, but often prone to technical fluctuations at critical moments.
Watching Tsonga play is a pleasure.
This player is nicknamed "Tennis Ali" by fans because he looks like boxing champion Muhammad Ali. His playing style is indeed like that of a boxer, full of energy, passion, punches to the flesh, crisp and neat, and not only violent. , and refreshing, simple and pure.
Although equally violent, Tsonga and del Potro are slightly different.
Del Potro is a typical baseline player. Although both players are tall and bulky, resulting in insufficient mobility and stronger offense than defense; the difference is that Del Potro still has the ability to maneuver the baseline, while Tsonga is Prefer to take the initiative to make up for defensive deficiencies.
Therefore, Tsonga often likes to raid the net.
Moreover, his net play is different from that of most players today. He is often able to create opportunities for himself through absolute suppression. The entire net play seems to be easy and smooth, retro and classic, and at the same time, he can become a trump card rather than change. A little game pacing trick.
Serve, forehand, and netting are all Tsonga's strengths; movement, backhand, and endurance are Tsonga's relative shortcomings.
Especially on hard courts, Tsonga is often able to bring his own characteristics to the extreme, making tennis burst out with the charm of boxing.
In the four Grand Slams, Tsonga has performed well——
The Australian Open, preferably the final, but in addition, there is one semi-final and three quarter-finals.
French Open, two semi-finals and one semi-final.
Wimbledon, two semi-finals, two semi-finals.
US Open, three quarterfinals.
Overall, the US Open is the only Grand Slam where Tsonga has not reached the semi-finals, but the worst average performance is the French Open on clay courts.
Although France is France's biggest hope of winning the title every year, clay is obviously not Tsonga's best surface, which is a pity.
Perhaps, some people are curious, with such outstanding talent and ability, why didn't Tsonga perform better in his career?