Paris: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lashed out at French Open organizers for turning down his schedule requests.
The 8th-seeded Tsonga, the top-ranked French player, reached the third round by defeating countryman Josselin Ouanna 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday.
But the former Australian Open runner-up said he was dissatisfied after organizers made him play his first-round match on Sunday while he had asked for a later start in the tournament in order to be physically fit.
Tsonga battled through five sets to beat Daniel Brands of Germany in the previous round.
"Frankly, I was a bit disappointed because I was playing on a Sunday," Tsonga said. "I had asked not to play on a Sunday, absolutely, because I had practiced in such a way that I thought I wanted to play on a Monday or Tuesday, to be totally fit. But they imposed it on me."
Tsonga said the organizers should have shown more respect considering his ranking and nationality.
"Today, we're in France. I'm French. I'm the French No. 1. I would have thought it was legitimate for me to be listened to," Tsonga said.
"If you look at (Andy) Murray, if he decides on a day or a time schedule at Wimbledon, nobody is going to impose anything on him. For (Roger) Federer, in his country it's the same. And in the U.S., I suppose it's the same thing for the best American players. I think that Lleyton (Hewitt) probably plays in the sun during the Australian Open because he loves the sun and other opponents don't like the sun."
Fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who lost in five sets to Andy Murray in the first round on Monday, also said organizers refused to give him an extra day off following his title in Nice.
Tsonga, trying to pass the fourth round at the French Open for the first time, said organizers would have been sheepish if he had made an early exit at the clay-court Grand Slam.
"If I had lost on Sunday because I was not feeling good, then many people would have been disappointed. This would have been a bit silly, I think," Tsonga said. "But it wasn't the case, so I'm here, and I'm fit. I'm ready to play. This story will continue, and that's the end of the story."
Tsonga made light work of his good friend Ouanna. He won the first nine games and served nine aces against his former classmate at the French national tennis center.
"I would have rather played somebody else and win this way, but it's the way it is. That's the tournament," Tsonga said. "I thought I had to start playing with a lot of intensity and I had to grab him at the throat. I didn't want him to do too much, and frankly, it was a good start from my side. I think this weighed a lot on the whole match."
Comments
0 comment