It has been far from perfect week for French tennis as a trio of their players continue to cope with their own issues going into the second grand slam of the season.
The French Open will get underway a week on Monday. It will be the first time since 2008 where Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be absent from the draw. On Monday the 33-year-old confirmed that he will miss the event as he continues to recover from knee surgery. Tsonga hasn’t played a match on the tour since the Montpellier Open in February.
“Despite all our best efforts to be fit in time I am afraid to say unhappily I’m ruled out of Roland Garros,” the two-time French Open semifinalist wrote on Twitter on Monday.
“I worked really hard to try and be fit in time, but it wasn’t enough.”
Tsonga torn his meniscus earlier this year, which required surgery in April. His absence from the French major means that he is set to drop of of the world’s top 40 for the first time since 2007. It will be only the third time he has missed the French Open since making his grand slam debut back in 2005.
“I’m obviously very disappointed, but I still want to come to (ATP) Lyon as an ambassador and to Roland Garros as a spectator.” He stated.
Concerns for Gasquet, Monfils
As Tsonga watches from the sidelines, some of his Davis Cup team mates are also dealing with their own problems going into the tournament. Richard Gasquet is currently coping with a hip injury. Yesterday he told French website L’Equipe that he was bothered by pain in his hip throughout the first round of the Italian Open. Where he lost 6-4, 6-4, to Benoit Paire.
“Benoît played a great match but the court was slippery and I did not manage to ignore mentally.” He said. “I never had that kind of (hip) pain. I will try to rest.”
Despite the setback, Gasquet is confident that he will still be able to play in the upcoming tournament, which will be his 54th appearance in a grand slam main draw. His best run at the French Open occurred in 2016 when he reached the quarter-finals.
“I do not think there is a big risk for Roland-Garros, because I still have time. It’s not death, it’s not a huge pain, I’ve had a lot more serious, but it may be better for me to finish this tournament (Rome). For Roland, I think that should be fine.” Gasquet evaluated.
Gael Monfils is currently free of any major injury, but admits that his confidence has been hit. Since starting his campaign on the European clay, the 31-year-old has only managed to win one out of four matches on the tour. His latest loss was to Fabio Fognini in Rome, who scored his 300th win on the tour.
“My level of play is not satisfactory. It is not easy. I am not in the ranking that I would like to have, I have not developed the game I would like.” Le Figaro quoted him as saying. “I continue to train to believe in myself. Physically, I’ve recovered, (but) there is still a little stress because I want to do well.”
Monfils will be hoping for a confidence boost next week when he plays at the Lyon Open.
In the history of the French Open, the last Frenchman to win the title was Yannick Noah back in 1983. Henri Leconte was the last men’s finalist back in 1988.
