Jo-Wilfried Tsonga made an interesting admission ahead of his fourth round match with Novak Djokovic by claiming the Serb has ruined his career.
The French world No14 has lost the last nine times he’s played against Djokovic and trails 5-11 in their overall head-to-head.
Three of those defeats came in grand slams: in the 2008 Australian Open final when Tsonga burst onto the scene by taking out Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal en route to the final; in the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2011 where the Serb was victorious in four sets, and in the Roland Garros 2012 quarter- finals where Djokovic beat the Frenchman in five sets.
Add to that a defeat in the last eight stage of the London 2012 Olympics, and Tsonga’s career might have been very different had he not suffered those losses to Djokovic.
Tsonga, who made the semi-finals at Roland Garros last year, is hoping he can finally stem the bleeding against Djokovic as he bids for a spot in the last eight.
“With Novak, I defeated him many times but not in the big moments, not in the big tournaments. He’s spoiled my career to a certain extent,” said the 29-year-old.
“So I wish that I could be in a position to turn the tables.”
However, Tsonga refused to use the word revenge, adding: “I’m not vindictive. He’s a very good player. He gives it all on court but with a player like Novak, our rivalry is quite specific."
Also in action is fourth seed Roger Federer, who faces a dangerous Ernests Gulbis. All their three matches were played in 2010 and have gone the distance, with Federer owning a 2-1 lead over the No18 seed.
“Clearly he has to be confident after winning a title (in Nice) and now backing it up again here this week and cruising,” said Federer. “I’m aware of the challenge ahead of me. It will be a difficult match because I have had some tough matches with him in the past.”
Meanwhile, Gulbis is confident heading into the match – which will be his first time playing in a second week of a major in six years.
“Game plan? I don’t want to tell all my cards. But I have a game plan,” said the 25-year-old. “I don’t want to talk about it before the match.
"You don’t need to be scared to do certain things against him. Most people go on the court and they lose the match before it has started. I can tell you that’s not gonna be the case with me.”
