Black Tennis Pros

Gael, which player would you choose…


To share a good bottle of wine with?
I don't drink, so that puts a damper on things. But if it was to share a Magnum of Fanta with, I'd choose Jo (Tsonga).

To take to your favourite restaurant?
Can I say Jo again? No? Well then, I'll say Juan Monaco. He's such a cool guy, and so generous I'd be sure to have a good time.


To accompany you to the Cannes film festival?
I need a girl! Or multiple girls! I think the best would be to show up on the red carpet with five of them.


To go out on the town with in Las Vegas?
Dustin Brown. I love that guy, he's so cool. It would be incredible to go wild in Vegas with him.

As master of ceremonies for your wedding?
Well, if it's a wedding along the same lines as this interview, Mike Llodra, of course.


Never to train with?
I can't think of anybody. Lopez said Karlovic? No, I think it's good to train with someone who has a big serve. It's always useful to work on your return.


To take to a football match?
Richard Gasquet. He's a fan of Paris Saint German, so it'd be at their home stadium, the Parc des Princes.

To interview if you were a journalist?
(He thinks for a while). The Williams sisters. I know them a bit, but I'm sure they're really interesting. They're quite mysterious, so it would be good to ask them a few questions.


To take fishing?
Jo (Tsonga).

To take to see your favourite band?
Hmmm…I really wouldn't mind going to see some rap with Svetlana (Kutznetsova). She's a great chick, she's fantastic. I love her.

To play mixed doubles with?
Too much choice! I prefer to leave that one open.

To go and see stand-up comedy with?
Andrea Petkovic. She's a really nice girl, she's always smiling and laughing.

To open a bar with?
France's Davis Cup team.


To be your spokesperson?
Gilles Simon, he never stops talking.

To hit on girls with?
Jo, again. He's not the biggest flirt but we have an excellent track record (he laughs).

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Evelyne and Didier Tsonga, parents of French player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Carol Thatcher has brought ‘shame on Britain’ by describing a French tennis star as a golliwog, the player’s mother said last night.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s mother accused Baroness Thatcher’s daughter of displaying ‘a racist, colonial attitude’.

Evelyne Tsonga said Jo-Wilfried, her eldest son, was ‘deeply hurt and upset’ by Miss Thatcher’s comment and praised the BBC for sacking her.

She told how the French-Congolese player had experienced racism in the past and said Miss Thatcher’s comment could encourage prejudice.

Mrs Tsonga said: ‘Nobody deserves to be described as a golliwog, least of all my son.

‘Such language is extremely unwelcome, but perhaps not surprising considering the kind of background which Carol Thatcher comes from.

‘Mrs Thatcher was famous for her imperial, Britain-is-best view of the world, even fighting a colonial war in the Falklands 27 years ago.

‘Such ideals should not be relevant in the modern world, but Carol Thatcher clearly still holds true to them.

‘Perhaps Margaret Thatcher passed these views on to her children, but this does not make them right. Carol Thatcher should be deeply ashamed of what she said.’

She added: ‘It was the same with Prince Harry calling a colleague a Paki, and Prince Charles calling a friend Sooty. They might claim that it is all harmless, friendly fun but it is not.’

Mrs Tsonga, a teacher from the town of Coulaine, near Le Mans, south-west of Paris, is married to Didier Tsonga, a former handball champion who was born in Gabon

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MARSEILLE, France (AFP) — Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the French fourth seed, won the 576,000 euros ATP tournament on Sunday, defeating compatriot Michael Llodra 7-5, 7-6 (7/3) for his fourth career title which he dedicated to his sick father.

World number 12 Tsonga added the win a fortnight after his success in the South African Open, living up to his pre-match status as favourite on the heels of his fine win over top-seeded world number three Serb Novak Djokovic in the semis.

He finished Llodra off with his 11th ace before explaining his thoughts were with his father, former handballer Didier, who had surgery during the week.

"I almost didn't come here. I couldn't tell you that my father was operated on this week. Today, I dedicate this win to him," said Tsonga.

Alluding back to his fourth straight win over Djokovic, he added: "With this tournament I showed I was capable of beating one of the world's top players once again and that I was ready to make the step up to join the big guys."

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Whether being called "Big Jo", "le mome" (which translates as "the kid"), or "Ali" because of his resemblance to the former boxing champ, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is having to answer everybody. He is the hottest ticket in France with everyone still amazed at his magnificent performance ascending to the final of the 2008 Australian Open.

Yannick Noah, the last Frenchman to win a major title, described his straight-sets mauling of world No.2 Rafael Nadal as "beautiful".

Nicolas Escude, the last Frenchman to play a match of such significance at Melbourne Park, when he anchored France's 2001 Davis Cup triumph, said Tsonga had "walked on water......It is one of the most enormous things I have ever seen. He made Nadal look like a little boy with no clue."

With all that is being said, it is Didier Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried's father, who has not only a very interesting story of his own, but very endearing words for his son.

"It is somewhat odd," Didier said of the fact he wrestled his way close to ringside to see Ali fight 33 years ago and now has a son who is likened to the great champion, albeit in a very different sport.

"It's not just the physical resemblance and his physique, but it's his temperament and the way he handles himself on court, he's a showman, he likes the crowd. It's a great honour that he is compared with Ali."

Didier joked, however, any similarity is pure coincidence.

"We see the resemblance, but he has no parental link with Muhammad Ali," he said after his son's defeat.

As a 20-year-old in Congo's steamy capital Brazzaville, the lure of seeing Ali and Foreman fight for the heavyweight title of the world only a couple of kilometres across the river in Kinshasa was irresistible, so Didier crossed the Zaire River on a leaky ferry.

"Everybody was crossing the river to see the fight," Didier said. "I got very close to the ring and could see Ali."

Didier joked, however, any similarity is pure coincidence.

"We see the resemblance, but he has no parental link with Muhammad Ali," he said after his son's defeat.

Tsonga's manager, Morgan Menaham, said he was working on trying to arrange a meeting with Ali.

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