Tsonga vs. Djokovic[edit]
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's most famous rivalry is against Novak Djokovic.[29] They have met 19 times with Djokovic leading 13–6, including 5–1 in the Grand Slams.[30] Their first meeting was in the final of the 2008 Australian Open; Djokovic and Tsonga had defeated the top two players, Roger Federer[31] and Rafael Nadal[32] in their respective semi-finals in straight sets. Djokovic won this match in four sets to win his first Grand Slam singles title.[33] Tsonga then won their next four meetings, before Djokovic stopped the streak at Miami in 2009.
Their next meeting at a Grand Slam was again at the Australian Open, in the 2010 quarter-finals, exactly two years to the day since Djokovic defeated Tsonga to win his first Grand Slam singles title. However, this time it was Tsonga who prevailed, winning in five sets after Djokovic fell ill during the match.[34] It wouldn't be until another year-and-a-half until they met again, with the stakes even higher – in the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2011, with the winner advancing to his first Wimbledon final. It was their first meeting on grass, and Djokovic prevailed in four sets to advance to his first Wimbledon final,[35] and in the process ending the seven-and-a-half-year reign of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the top of the rankings. At the 2012 French Open, Tsonga and Djokovic met again in an important match, in the quarter-finals. After losing the first set, Tsonga rallied to take the next two sets and held two match points on Djokovic's serve in the fourth set before the Serb fought back to force a tie-break. Despite the Frenchman saving set points in the breaker, Djokovic took one at the third opportunity. This forced a deciding set which Tsonga lost after more than four hours of play.[36]
They met again two months later at the Olympics, with Tsonga losing in straight sets in the quarter-finals.[37] They met in the final of the 2012 China Open, with Tsonga again losing in straight sets.[38] The pair were drawn in the same pool for the 2012 ATP World Tour Finals. Tsonga lost his first (of three) round robin matches to Djokovic.[39] It was his fifth loss to Djokovic in 2012.
Their most recent meeting was in the third round of the 2014 Rogers Cup, with Tsonga scoring his first win over Djokovic since the 2010 Australian Open with a straight-sets victory. Prior to this victory Tsonga had lost his last nine matches and 18 sets to Djokovic.