title: The Sugarland Express

text: Roger Ebert gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "If the movie finally doesn’t succeed, that’s because Spielberg has paid too much attention to all those police cars (and all the crashes they get into), and not enough to the personalities of his characters. We get to know these three people just enough to want to know them better." Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" awarded the same two-and-a-half star grade and wrote that "whereas 'Bonnie and Clyde' prompted our sympathy for its heroes because of their winning style, 'The Sugarland Express' asks us to care for Clovis and Lou Jean because they are thick-skulled and because, presumably, every mother has an inherent right to raise her own baby. It doesn't work." Arthur D. Murphy of "Variety" called Hawn's performance "generally delightful" but found that "something happens to the picture" toward the end as "the story opts for an abrupt series of production number shootouts, as though this was the real purpose in making the film, and all that preceded was introductory filler and vamp. Too bad, for two-thirds of the film is artful, the rest strident." Tom Milne of "The Monthly Film Bulletin" wrote that it "seems peculiarly contrived ... it may have happened this way in real life, but in the film the fugitives are so unequivocally presented as poor, harmless innocents that the veritable army of police cars absurdly queuing up to be in at the kill looks very much as though both they and the film were taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut."


title: The Sugarland Express

text: Other reviews, however, were much more positive. Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" called it "a dazzling, funny, exciting and finally poignant film," and called it "astonishing" what Spielberg, Barwood and Robbins "have managed to accomplish within a simple trek plot. Starting out as a comedy that gradually darkens, 'The Sugarland Express,' which is based on an actual incident, becomes an increasingly disenchanted portrait of contemporary America." Nora Sayre of "The New York Times" wrote, "Spielberg, the 26-year old director, has built up Texas as a major character in his movie. As the herd of cars races and heaves and crashes through the landscape, the state's personality surfaces like a sperm whale. Mr. Spielberg has also made marvelous use of many Texans, some of whom haven't acted before." Gary Arnold of "The Washington Post" called it "an exciting new American film—a funny, tense and ultimately touching chase melodrama ... It's an odyssey you may never forget, and you might as well memorize the names of the young filmmakers responsible for it, the 26-year old director, Steven Spielberg, and the 30-year old screenwriters (and no doubt prospective directors), Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins, because they've made one of the most stunning debuts in Hollywood history." Pauline Kael of "The New Yorker" wrote that "Spielberg uses his gifts in a very free-and-easy, American way—for humor, and for a physical response to action. He could be that rarity among directors a born entertainer—perhaps a new generation's Howard Hawks. In terms of the pleasure that technical assurance gives an audience, this is one of the most phenomenal début films in the history of movies."


title: The Sugarland Express

text: The film grossed $6.5 million in the United States and Canada and $5.5 million overseas for a worldwide gross of $12 million.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on the ATP Tour, including two Masters 1000 titles.In his early career, Tsonga won the 2003 US Open junior singles title and was the ATP Newcomer of the Year for 2007. He rose to fame by reaching the 2008 Australian Open final as an unseeded player, defeating four seeded players (including world No. 2 Rafael Nadal) en route. He followed by winning his first Masters title at the 2008 Paris Masters, and reached the final of the 2011 ATP Finals. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Tsonga won the silver medal in men's doubles partnering Michaël Llodra. He claimed his second Masters title at the 2014 Canadian Open, defeating four top-ten players en route. Tsonga also reached the final of the 2011 Paris Masters and the 2015 Shanghai Masters. In doubles, he won the 2009 Shanghai Masters doubles title partnering Julien Benneteau. In 2017, Tsonga helped France to its first Davis Cup win in 16 years, after being runner-up in 2014. He retired from the sport at the 2022 French Open.Tsonga reached the quarterfinal stage of all four majors. His best performances at the majors since 2008 were semifinal appearances at the 2010 Australian Open, the 2013 and 2015 French Open and at Wimbledon in 2011 and 2012. Tsonga is one of only three players (the others being Tomáš Berdych and Stan Wawrinka) to have major wins against each of the Big Four. He is a member of the Tennis Club de Paris.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga was born on 17 April 1985 in Le Mans to a Congolese father, Didier Tsonga, a handball player and a French mother, Évelyne Tsonga. His father moved to France during the 1970s to fulfill his dreams of becoming a handball great, where he eventually met Évelyne and they married. Tsonga is nicknamed Ali because of his facial resemblance to boxing legend Muhammad Ali.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga has a younger brother (Enzo) who, much like Jo, has been inspired to play sports and is part of the French basketball program (junior). He also has an elder sister (Sasha) who is less involved with sporting ventures. His footballing cousin is Maël Lépicier who plays for Congo. Tsonga and Gaël Monfils developed a good friendship from a young age, when they enjoyed mimicking all the tennis greats of the past.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga had a career-high ITF junior singles ranking of world No. 2, attained on 13 October 2003. He won the 2003 US Open boys' singles title. He reached four other singles semifinals of junior Grand Slam events. Marcos Baghdatis was a major rival of Tsonga on the junior tour.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga started dating Noura El Shwekh (she is of Swiss nationality) from late 2014. She frequently accompanied him on the ATP tour while they were dating. In November 2016, Tsonga announced that the couple were expecting their first child. Their first child, a boy named Sugar, was born on 17 March 2017. Tsonga and El Shwekh married on 21 July 2018 in a ceremony held at the Château de Bagnols , which was constructed in the 13th century and located in the department of Rhône. Pictures of the couple's marriage ceremony were posted on Tsonga's Twitter account on the afternoon of Monday, 23 July 2018 with the caption, “We are family.”


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga played his first junior match in July 2000 at the age of 15 at a grade 2 tournament in the Netherlands. He had a very successful junior career; he won the US Open boys' singles title in 2003 by defeating Marcos Baghdatis in the final and he was a losing boys' singles semifinalist in the other three Grand Slam events in the same year. Tsonga reached his career-high boys' singles ranking of world no. 2 on 13 October 2003.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga turned pro in 2004. He won three singles qualifying matches at the 2004 China Open held in September of that year to reach the singles main draw of an ATP Tour tournament for the first time in his career; in the main draw, he upset former French Open singles champion, former No. 1 and the top seed Carlos Moyá in the first round, before losing to Lee Hyung-taik in the second round.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga suffered a string of injuries beginning late in 2004, with a herniated disc that caused him to be out of action until March 2005. Then came two right shoulder injuries later in 2005, back and abdominal ailments from October 2005 to February 2006, and the recurrence of an abdominal injury at the end of 2006. In all, he played (only the singles events of) just eight ATP Tour tournaments from August 2004 to November 2006.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: In January 2007, then ranked No. 212 in the world, Tsonga received a wild card entry into the 2007 Australian Open, where in only his second senior Grand Slam tournament match, he met sixth seed Andy Roddick for the second time in his career. What followed was the longest tiebreak in Australian Open history in the first set, which he went on to win (20–18). Tsonga forced a tiebreak in the second set, as well. However, he went on to lose the match in four sets. He was just 21 at the time.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: In 2007, Tsonga won four Challenger titles in Tallahassee, Mexico City, Lanzarote, and Surbiton. Tsonga qualified for the 2007 Queen's Club Championships, while at the same time playing in the Surbiton Challenger, which he won. Between the two events, he won five matches during the course of two days. In the second round of the Queen's main draw, he met the sixth seed and defending champion, former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, ranked No. 16 in the ATP rankings. Tsonga won the match after two tiebreaks to seal his most prominent victory since his triumph in ATP debut over former No. 1 Carlos Moyà, then ranked No. 6 in the world, at Beijing in 2004. Tsonga went on to lose to promising Croatian youngster Marin Čilić in the following round.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At Wimbledon 2007, where Tsonga was again awarded a wildcard entry, he reached the fourth round (his first time past round one of a Grand Slam), defeating countryman Julien Benneteau, Nicolás Lapentti, and Feliciano López. His run was halted by his countryman and friend, 12th seed Richard Gasquet, in straight sets. He did not beat a seeded player in his progress to the fourth round (Andy Murray, the potential seed he would have faced, had dropped out). The win brought his ranking up from No. 110 to No. 74, his first time inside the top 75.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Then, at the 2007 US Open, Tsonga defeated Óscar Hernández before beating Tim Henman in what proved to be Henman's last Major. He then lost to Rafael Nadal in three sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: The 2007 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon tournament started strongly for Tsonga. Tsonga beat Vince Spadea, Richard Gasquet, and Olivier Rochus, before losing to compatriot Sébastien Grosjean. He partnered Grosjean, however, in men's doubles, where the team was awarded a wildcard. They beat top seeds Julien Benneteau and Michaël Llodra, Fabrice Santoro and Gilles Simon, and then third seeds Arnaud Clément and Nicolas Mahut in the semifinals. Tsonga won his first doubles title, and Grosjean won his first doubles title in three years by defeating Łukasz Kubot and Lovro Zovko in straight sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: By the end of the year, Tsonga saw his ranking rise over 150 ranking spots into the top 50. Tsonga began 2007 ranked No. 212, and in early July was in the top 100 at No. 74. In October, Tsonga climbed into the top 50 for the first time in his career, finishing the year ranked No. 43. Tsonga's year-end 169 ranking spots climb was the biggest climb of any player ranked in the top 75.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Starting his 2008 season, Tsonga won a singles match at the 2008 Next Generation Adelaide International. He defeated Victor Hănescu and Ernests Gulbis before dispatching Lleyton Hewitt (the top seed). However, he fell in the semifinals to Jarkko Nieminen. In doubles, Tsonga and Sébastien Grosjean lost to Florian Mayer and Chris Haggard in the first round.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga played doubles in the Sydney Medibank International with Richard Gasquet. They scored a major upset in the final over world No. 1 team Bob and Mike Bryan in a super-tiebreak.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga began his 2008 Australian Open campaign with a tough first-round match against ninth seed Andy Murray and pulled off a four-set victory. Tsonga then defeated Sam Warburg and Guillermo García-López, Richard Gasquet and Mikhail Youzhny to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, Tsonga delivered a strong performance and shocked second seed Rafael Nadal in straight sets. He did not face a break point on his serve until the third set, while breaking the Spaniard five times in the match. The victory earned him a spot in his first Grand Slam final, where he was beaten by No. 3 Novak Djokovic in four sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga was the only player in the tournament to take a set from Djokovic. Following the tournament, he saw his ranking climb to a career-high of No. 18.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga then competed at the Indian Wells Masters, where he reached the fourth round, before losing to defending champion Rafael Nadal in three sets. Following the tournament, Tsonga saw his ATP ranking climb again to a new career high of No. 12.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga pulled out of the French Open because of a knee problem that lasted for several months. This knee injury made him pull out of the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup, France vs. the United States. He underwent successful knee surgery and participated in the 2008 US Open. He defeated Santiago Ventura and Carlos Moyà, before falling to No. 5 Tommy Robredo in the third round.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga entered the Thailand Open as the second-seeded player. He defeated Lukáš Dlouhý, Jürgen Melzer, Gaël Monfils, and top seed and 2008 Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic to claim his first career ATP title. At the Paris Masters, Tsonga overcame Djokovic once again to earn a place in the quarterfinals. He then defeated Andy Roddick and James Blake. In the final, Tsonga defeated David Nalbandian in a competitive three-set match to capture his first career ATP Masters Series championship. His win allowed him to secure a spot in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: In the round-robin portion of the Masters Cup, Tsonga lost to Nikolay Davydenko and Juan Martín del Potro, and beat Novak Djokovic, but he did not advance to the semifinals.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga started his 2009 season in Australia at the Brisbane International tournament. He defeated Agustín Calleri, Jarkko Nieminen, but lost to Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals in three sets. Tsonga teamed up with fellow Frenchman Marc Gicquel to win the doubles title by defeating Fernando Verdasco and Mischa Zverev in the final. The duo had beaten Travis Parrott and Filip Polasek, Simon Aspelin and Pavel Vizner, and Mario Ancic and Paul-Henri Mathieu en route to the finals.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At the Medibank International, Tsonga was forced to retire with a back injury before his quarterfinal match against Jarkko Nieminen. He had received a bye in the first round, and had defeated Italy's Simone Bolelli in straight sets to advance to set up the clash with Nieminen.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: The Australian Open found Tsonga making it to the quarterfinals, before losing to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in four sets. His rank went down to No. 14. He next entered the South African Tennis Open in Johannesburg, where he won his first title of the year, and third overall, by defeating Jérémy Chardy in the finals. After his triumph in South Africa, Tsonga entered the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, where he lost to No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals in three sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga then entered the Open 13 in Marseille. He defeated Andrey Golubev, Simone Bolelli, and Feliciano López, before notching his fourth straight win over Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. In his second all-French final of the month, he defeated Michaël Llodra to win his second tournament in three weeks.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga was then called up to play the singles matches for France against the Czech Republic in their Davis Cup first-round clash. Tsonga defeated Radek Štěpánek, but the Czech Republic had an insurmountable 3–1 lead. Tsonga gave France a consolation point by beating Jan Hernych.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, Tsonga made an early exit from the tournament, as he was defeated by the Russian Igor Andreev in the third round. Next up for Tsonga was the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. He defeated Agustín Calleri, Robert Kendrick, and Gilles Simon, only to lose to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. After skipping two tournaments, Tsonga made his return at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, but he lost his first singles match in the clay-court season at the hands of Richard Gasquet. In doubles, he and partner Julien Benneteau lost to the Polish pair of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski in the second round.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga then entered the Madrid Masters, but lost in round two. Afterwards, he received the 2008 ATP Most Improved Player of the Year award.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga then represented France at Düsseldorf, Germany in the ARAG World Team Cup. He won the first tie against Sweden's Andreas Vinciguerra, but lost in doubles. Tsonga was defeated by German Philipp Kohlschreiber, but then beat American Robby Ginepri. However, France lost three successive ties during the week


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga then entered the French Open. He recorded his first-ever match win at the tournament by defeating Julien Benneteau in the first round. He then had wins over Juan Mónaco and Christophe Rochus, before his fine run ended at the hands of fifth seed Juan Martín del Potro. Next up was the Gerry Weber Open, Tsonga suffered a straight-set defeat against German Tommy Haas in the second round. However, In doubles, Tsonga was paired with his French compatriot Marc Gicquel, but they were also defeated in round two.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga then entered Wimbledon. He survived a tough four-set against Andrey Golubev and received a walkover from Simone Bolelli, before losing to Ivo Karlović of Croatia. At the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C, Tsonga lost to the American John Isner in the second round. Tsonga made his debut at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He defeated Rainer Schüttler and Gilles Simon. In the quarterfinals, he overcame No. 1 Roger Federer, coming back from an injury timeout after winning the first set by a dive-volley, as well as being 1–5 down in the third set. He advanced to the semifinals, where he lost to Andy Murray in straight sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Tsonga made an early exit from the singles category, unexpectedly losing to No. 124 Chris Guccione of Australia. In doubles, Tsonga and Michaël Llodra lost to Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles in the quarterfinals.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: The US Open started well with victories over Chase Buchanan, Jarkko Nieminen, and Julien Benneteau. However, Tsonga lost to 11th seed Chilean Fernando González in the fourth round. Tsonga then represented France at the Davis Cup playoff round against the Netherlands. Tsonga defeated the Jesse Huta Galung Thiemo de Bakker in singles and, with partner Michaël Llodra, won in doubles over Thiemo de Bakker and Igor Sijsling, wrapping up the tie 4–1.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga then entered the PTT Thailand Open, where he was the defending champion and top seed, as Rafael Nadal withdrew just days before the tournament began. After two close matches, Tsonga crashed out to the young Serbian Viktor Troicki in the semifinals. Tsonga also competed in the doubles category with Fabrice Santoro, but they lost to Mischa Zverev and Guillermo García-López in the semifinals. At the Japan Open in Tokyo, Tsonga defeated Mischa Zverev, Richard Gasquet, Ernests Gulbis, and Gaël Monfils to reach the final. There, he beat Mikhail Youzhny in just over an hour to clinch his third title of the season and his first-ever ATP World Tour 500 title. In the doubles category, Tsonga paired with Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, but they were defeated in the second round.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Next up was a trip to China and the Shanghai Masters. Tsonga defeated Zeng Shao-Xuan, but lost to Robin Söderling in the third round. In doubles, paired with Julien Benneteau, he made it to the finals, where they beat sixth seeded Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski to win their first-ever ATP Masters 1000 doubles title. After two disappointing tournaments at Lyon and the Valencia Open, Tsonga entered the Paris Masters, where he was the defending champion. He had wins over Albert Montañés and Gilles Simon, but lost to No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. He ended his 2009 season staying in the top 10 for the second year in a row.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga switched his rackets to Babolat (previously using Wilson) and started his 2010 season at the AAMI Kooyong Classic, after recovering from a wrist injury. After two wins and a walkover, he lost to Fernando Verdasco in the final. At the 2010 Australian Open, Tsonga beat Sergiy Stakhovsky, Taylor Dent, Tommy Haas, and Nicolás Almagro. In the quarterfinals, he beat No. 3 Novak Djokovic, in his second five-set match. Tsonga's fatigue soon took a toll on him, however, as he was badly beaten in the semifinals by No. 1 Roger Federer.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga then entered Open 13 in Marseille, France. He had two wins, but lost against Julien Benneteau in the semifinal, ending his title defense. Despite plans of not playing at the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships, he accepted a wildcard and became the fifth seed in the tournament. He won against Michaël Llodra, who retired due to injury, but then struggled with form and lost to Ivan Ljubičić in the second round. The Davis Cup was next against Germany. In the singles, Tsonga helped France take an unassailable 3–0 lead, by winning the second-rubber match against Benjamin Becker, but was forced to retire against Simon Greul due to a recurring injury.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At the 2010 BNP Paribas Open, Tsonga lost to Robin Söderling in the fourth round. He was seeded eighth at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. He beat Guillermo García-López, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and 12th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero, before losing to second seed Rafael Nadal, after blowing eight break-point opportunities. Tsonga then made his debut at the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. He had a win over Nicolás Almagro, but was edged out in a match against Juan Carlos Ferrero.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: After nursing an injury, Tsonga entered the 2010 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell. After wins over Jan Hájek and Nicolás Almagro, he was stunned by Dutch youngster Thiemo de Bakker in the quarterfinals. He made it all the way to the quarterfinals at the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, but was beaten by 13th seed David Ferrer. At the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, he was forced to retire in the opening round against Guillermo García-López.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Seeded eighth at the 2010 French Open, Tsonga defeated Daniel Brands, in five sets, Josselin Ouanna, and Thiemo de Bakker. Unfortunately, in the fourth round, Tsonga had to withdraw after losing the first set against Mikhail Youzhny, due to the progressive regional back pain from the previous round. Scans showed that Tsonga had sustained a right hip injury. In a tune-up event to Wimbledon, at the Boodles Challenge exhibition tournament, Tsonga had wins against Nikolay Davydenko and Philipp Kohlschreiber.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: The All England Club was Tsonga's next stop, and he was seeded tenth. He had tough wins over Robert Kendrick and Alexandr Dolgopolov, before easier victories over Tobias Kamke and Julien Benneteau. However, in the quarterfinals, he eventually fell to home favorite Andy Murray in four sets. Not long after his Wimbledon campaign, Jo suffered a heavy knee injury. It caused him to withdraw from all the US Open Series events, including the US Open.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga made his return in October for his title defense at the 2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships as the third seed, but rustiness was apparent, and he lost early to Jarkko Nieminen. Entering the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters 1000 as the 12th seed, Tsonga had wins over Feliciano López, Sam Querrey, and Florian Mayer, before losing in the quarterfinals in straight sets to eventual champion Andy Murray. He then entered the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, but lost against Viktor Troicki in the second round. A week later, Tsonga made a semifinal appearance at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, but was beaten by Gaël Monfils for the first time.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: During the week in Montpellier, Tsonga re-aggravated his knee problem. He missed the Paris Masters, as well as the important French Davis Cup final against Serbia. It was a tough end to the season for Tsonga, as he finished the season outside the top 10 for the first time in three years, compiled a 31–16 win–loss record (his worst tally since 2007), and failed to reach a single final during the season.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga started his ATP season with an exhibition tournament at Abu Dhabi. However, Tsonga suffered a loss to Robin Soderling, but later told the press that being out of tennis for several months last season has made him hungry and determined.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Tsonga defeated Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo, Sergei Bubka, and Guillermo García-López, before losing to Roger Federer in the semifinal. The AAMI Kooyong Classic had Tsonga losing early to Jürgen Melzer. Tsonga then entered the 2011 Australian Open. After a thrilling win over Philipp Petzschner and breezing past Andreas Seppi, Tsonga lost to Alexandr Dolgopolov in five sets. The third round exit marked Tsonga's worst performance at the Australian Open since 2007.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga then participated in the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He defeated Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, Michaël Llodra, and Ivan Ljubičić to reach his first final since winning the Japan Open in 2009, but lost there to Robin Söderling. At the Open 13 tennis tournament, Tsonga lost to Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals. A day later, he declared that he had sustained another ankle injury, which again put him out of Davis Cup action against Austria. Tsonga fell in the opening round at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, as the 15th seed, Tsonga's poor form continued. He managed to get a win over Teymuraz Gabashvili, but fell to Alexandr Dolgopolov in a match that lasted two days. Afterwards, he announced that he and his longtime coach Éric Winogradsky had decided to part ways after working together for seven years. At the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, he had a win over Juan Mónaco, but was beaten by Ivan Ljubičić in round two. Then came a first-round loss at the 2011 Estoril Open. Tsonga then found some form at the 2011 Mutua Madrid Open, beating first-time top-10 debutant Nicolás Almagro, before losing to Robin Söderling in the third round. At the 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, he beat juniors rival Marcos Baghdatis, but lost to Roger Federer in the second round.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga was 19th seed heading into the French Open. He beat both Jan Hájek and Igor Andreev in straight sets and made it to the third round, where he was defeated by 14th seed Stanislas Wawrinka. At the 2011 Aegon Championships in London, Tsonga received a first-round bye, then beat Michael Berrer and No. 1 Rafael Nadal, while moving through to the semifinals for the first time in a grass tournament. In the semifinals, he defeated British wildcard James Ward, but he let slip a healthy lead into a loss against Andy Murray in the final. Just 24 hours later, he arrived at the 2011 Aegon International in Eastbourne as the top seed. In his opening round, he defeated Denis Istomin, but he lost to Radek Štěpánek in round two.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, Tsonga defeated Go Soeda, Grigor Dimitrov, Fernando González, and David Ferrer. In the quarterfinals, he stunned the Centre Court crowd by coming from two sets down to defeat Roger Federer. This handed Federer his first loss in a Grand Slam after leading two sets to love, while handing Tsonga only his second win in coming back from two sets down. In the semifinals, however, despite serving for the first set and saving three match points in the third-set tiebreak, he eventually lost to second seed and eventual champion Novak Djokovic in four sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Tsonga defeated Fabio Fognini, Bernard Tomic, Roger Federer, and Nicolás Almagro, to set up a Wimbledon semifinal rematch against Novak Djokovic. After trailing 4–6, 0–3, Tsonga retired due to an arm problem. At the 2011 Western & Southern Open, Tsonga defeated Marin Čilić, but lost to American qualifier Alex Bogomolov, Jr. At the US Open, he defeated Lu Yen-hsun, Sergei Bubka, Fernando Verdasco, and Mardy Fish. He again met Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, but this time Federer swept him aside in three sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga teamed up with Michaël Llodra to notch an impressive victory over Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano López in Davis Cup play against Spain, but then was crushed by Rafael Nadal in his fourth singles rubber, as France lost the tie against Spain 1–4. Tsonga played at the 2011 Open de Moselle, where he was the top-seeded player. He defeated Mathieu Rodrigues and Nicolas Mahut, and in the semifinals he ended a two-match losing streak against Alexandr Dolgopolov. In the final, Tsonga fought past Ivan Ljubičić in three sets to win the tournament; his first title in almost two years since his triumph in Tokyo.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga, again as a top seed, played at the 2011 China Open for the first time since 2007. He opened with wins over Grigor Dimitrov, Zhang Ze, and Juan Carlos Ferrero. As expected, his semifinals match against Tomáš Berdych was extremely difficult. Berdych took the first set and Tsonga the second, but Tsonga could not withstand Berdych's growing confidence in a three-set loss. Tsonga was fourth seed for the 2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters. Tsonga lost his first match to Kei Nishikori. Vienna was the next destination for Tsonga in the 2011 Erste Bank Open. Victories over Jarkko Nieminen, Xavier Malisse, and Daniel Brands set up a final against Juan Martín del Potro. The first set was tight with del Potro taking it in a tie-break, but Tsonga prevailed in sets two and three for his second title of the season.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Just two days after Tsonga's victory in Vienna, Tsonga played his first-round match at the 2011 Valencia Open 500 as second seed. He lost in round two to Sam Querrey. As expected, the home crowd warmed to Jo from the start of the 2011 BNP Paribas Masters. Tsonga had wins over Guillermo García-López, Andreas Seppi, and John Isner, which set up a final against Roger Federer. Federer stormed through the first set and then won a tiebreak in the second to take the title.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: As a result of Tsonga's exploits in the Paris Masters, he qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Tsonga fell to Federer, beat Mardy Fish, and defeated Rafael Nadal to make it to the semifinals. A win over Tomáš Berdych sent Tsonga to the finals of the year-end championships for the first time in his career. In the final, Tsonga fought bravely, but came up short once again against Roger Federer. Tsonga finished the year matching his 2008 career-high ranking of No. 6.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Just before 2012 began, Tsonga participated in the Abu Dhabi exhibition tournament in late December 2011, where he lost a match against David Ferrer. Tsonga then began his 2012 season at the 2012 Qatar Open as third seed. Three wins set up a meeting against Roger Federer in the semifinals. However, Federer announced an unexpected withdrawal from the tournament due to a back problem, which gave Tsonga a walkover into the final. In the final, he won against Gaël Monfils and was named champion of the 2012 Qatar Open. Tsonga then played in the 2012 AAMI Classic exhibition tournament and lost the two matches he played.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: A week later, Tsonga had wins over Denis Istomin, Ricardo Mello, and Frederico Gil to make the round of 16 at the 2012 Australian Open. However, against Japanese rookie Kei Nishikori, Tsonga lost a close five set match. He took some time off before entering the 2012 Open 13. Two routine wins placed him in the semifinals against Juan Martín del Potro, where he lost in three sets. Next on the calendar was the 2012 Dubai Tennis Championships. Tsonga, seeded fourth, defeated Marcos Baghdatis and Lukáš Rosol, but lost once again to del Potro.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: The first Masters Series of the season, the 2012 BNP Paribas Open saw struggles. A retirement by Michaël Llodra and a win over Radek Štěpánek preceded a loss to David Nalbandian, after holding a match point. At the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open, four easy wins paved the way to a quarterfinal encounter with Rafael Nadal. Tsonga fought hard, but it was not quite enough, as Nadal battled to a three-set win.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: In Davis Cup play, Tsonga beat Ryan Harrison and lost to John Isner. France was eliminated from the event. The start of the clay-court run was next at the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. The results were wins against Philipp Kohlschreiber and Fernando Verdasco and a loss against Gilles Simon. The 2012 BMW Open yielded a first-round loss to Tommy Haas. The 2012 Mutua Madrid Open was similar, with a second-round loss to Alexandr Dolgopolov. The 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia followed. Two victories against Viktor Troicki and Juan Martín del Potro set up a loss to top seed Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga's French Open 2012 started off in shaky fashion after dropping the first set to Russian qualifier Andrey Kuznetsov. However, he closed out the match and then had wins over Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, Fabio Fognini, and Stanislas Wawrinka. In the quarterfinals against Novak Djokovic, he lost in five sets. The grass-court season began with the Aegon Championships. He defeated Britain's Jamie Baker, but was ousted by Ivan Dodig in three extremely tight sets. He also suffered a finger injury during the match after diving in an attempt to retrieve a ball.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: In the days leading up to Wimbledon, it was announced that Tsonga had a severely sprained finger, but would still compete. This proved to be a good tournament for Tsonga, with wins over Lleyton Hewitt, Guillermo García-López, Lukáš Lacko, Mardy Fish, and Philipp Kohlschreiber. He then faced Andy Murray for a place in the final, but despite managing to fight back to take the third set, Tsonga was ousted by the No. 4-ranked Murray.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: The 2012 London Summer Olympics was next up for Tsonga. His victory over Milos Raonic in the second round became the longest ever (in number of games played) at the Olympics. Fatigue, surprisingly, did not appear to affect Tsonga in the third round. He eased into the quarterfinals over Feliciano López, but lost to No. 2 Novak Djokovic. In the men's doubles event, Tsonga represented France alongside Michaël Llodra. The pair won their opening match against Argentinians David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank, and followed it with a win over India's Leander Paes and Vishnu Vardhan. They faced the Brazilian duo of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares in the quarterfinals, and earned a two set victory for a semifinal berth. In a marathon encounter, they won their next match against the Spaniards López and David Ferrer, 18–16 in the third set. In the finals, they faced the top seeded Americans Mike and Bob Bryan, but lost in straight sets, thus winning the Olympic silver medal.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga's Rogers Cup campaign was an extremely short affair with a second-round loss to fellow Frenchman Jérémy Chardy. He also crashed out in the second round of the 2012 US Open, after a defeat by No. 52 Martin Kližan. After a short break for recovery, Jo was back in France for the 2012 Moselle Open. Tsonga rolled to a semifinal berth with Russian Nikolay Davydenko. Tsonga had never beaten Davydenko in two previous attempts, but made sure that run was not extended to three with a tight three-set win. The final was an easy two-set win over Andreas Seppi, Tsonga's ninth ATP career title.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At the 2012 China Open, Tsonga had a bye, a win, and a walkover before beating Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals. An easy win over Feliciano López advanced Tsonga to his third final of the year. No. 2 Novak Djokovic was his opponent. Djokovic pulled away in the second, taking the match in two sets. Tsonga continued his year with the 2012 Shanghai Masters. He had wins over Benoît Paire and Marcos Baghdatis, but he lost in the quarterfinals to Tomáš Berdych in straight sets. The busy schedule continued in Stockholm. Tsonga cruised past Go Soeda and Sergiy Stakhovsky in the opening rounds, and had Baghdatis retire against him after a close semifinal match. This set up a final against Tomáš Berdych – the second time in two weeks. Despite being a set and a break up, Tsonga lost in three sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At the Valencia Open, Tsonga retired against Xavier Malisse. The Race To London was almost decided. Tsonga needed a quarterfinal appearance in Paris to secure it for certain. Tsonga came through an extremely tight encounter with Julien Benneteau and then beat Spaniard Nicolás Almagro; though Tsonga fell to David Ferrer in the quarterfinals, his win over Almagro secured his place in the ATP World Tour Finals. The Tour Finals found Tsonga with a new coach, Roger Rasheed. Novak Djokovic was his first round-robin opponent and Tsonga lost in two sets. Two more losses to Tomáš Berdych and Andy Murray ended his season.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Rather than entering an ATP-recognised event, Tsonga opted for the 2013 Hopman Cup, where he was paired with Mathilde Johansson. France first faced Spain. Tsonga defeated Fernando Verdasco, but Johansson lost her singles, and the pair lost the doubles. Tsonga next played USA. Jo demolished John Isner, but in similar fashion, Johansson lost to Venus Williams, and the pair lost to the Americans in the mixed doubles. Lastly, France faced South Africa. Tsonga beat Kevin Anderson, before Johansson lost to Chanelle Scheepers, and the pair was forced to retire in the doubles with Tsonga injured. France finished bottom of their group, but despite the injury, Jo was declared fit for the 2013 Australian Open, where he reached the quarterfinals but lost a thrilling five setter against Roger Federer.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: In Rotterdam, Tsonga made a surprising first-round exit against young Dutchman Igor Sijsling. Tsonga then played in the Open 13 in Marseille. In the quarterfinals, he saved five match points to edge Bernard Tomic, and then rolled over his countryman Gilles Simon in the semifinals. In the final, Tsonga saved a match point and overcame top seed Tomáš Berdych in three sets for his 10th ATP World Tour title.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At the French Open, Tsonga gained a decisive straight-set quarterfinal victory against Roger Federer, making Tsonga the first French player to reach the semifinals since Gaël Monfils in 2008, as well as only the second player after Rafael Nadal to have beaten Federer at both Wimbledon and the French Open. Tsonga was then defeated in straight sets by David Ferrer.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Following a run to the semifinals at Queen's, where Tsonga lost to the eventual champion, Andy Murray, Tsonga then competed at Wimbledon, where he was a two-time semifinalist. He retired in the second round against Ernests Gulbis. He missed the entire North American swing, including the US Open for the second time in four years, due to the injury.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga then made a comeback at Metz, reaching the final but losing to compatriot Gilles Simon. At the 2013 BNP Paribas Masters, Tsonga was the eighth seed, but lost his first match to Kei Nishikori, thus ruling him out of contention for the ATP World Tour Finals and capping off a disappointing season for Tsonga.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: In the fourth round of the 2014 Australian Open, he lost to longtime friend and rival Roger Federer in straight sets, despite not dropping a set in the first three rounds. Tsonga's next tournament was the Rotterdam Open. He reached the second round before falling to Marin Čilić in two tight sets. Tsonga reached the final of 2014 Open 13 losing to Ernest Gulbis. At the 2014 Dubai Tennis Championships, he was defeated by Tomáš Berdych. At the 2014 Indian Wells Masters, he suffered a first round exit against Julien Benneteau. He was defeated by Andy Murray in the fourth round of the 2014 Sony Open Tennis.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga reach in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters but was defeated by Roger Federer. He was defeated by Santiago Giraldo in the second round of the 2014 Mutua Madrid Open in straight sets. He was defeated by Milos Raonic for the first time in three meetings at the Rome Masters third round. In French Open, he made to the fourth round, losing to Novak Djokovic in straight sets (6–1, 6–4, 6–1).


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga began his grass court season by reaching the 3rd round of the 2014 Aegon Championships. He was stunned by Marinko Matosevic in straight sets. He then advanced to the fourth round of Wimbledon after a tricky first and second round against Jürgen Melzer and Sam Querrey, both taking him to 5 sets. He fell to two-time champion and longstanding rival Novak Djokovic in straight sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga showed excellent form in Toronto, winning his second Masters title by defeating Roger Federer in straight sets. Tsonga won the crown capturing four wins over top-10 players, a first at a Masters-1000 event in twelve years. Impressively, Tsonga defeated three of the Big Four in a single tournament, capturing victories over Novak Djokovic in the third round, Andy Murray in the quarterfinals, and Federer in the final. His semi-final win was against Wimbledon semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov. He was beaten by Andy Murray in the fourth round of 2014 US Open in straight sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: After that, Tsonga was instrumental in driving the French Davis Cup team into the finals of the 2014 Davis Cup by winning both his singles and doubles matches. He was given the top seed at the Moselle Open at Metz, France where he opened his bid for a third title at the tournament by winning in straight sets against Gilles Müller. He was then defeated by David Goffin in the quarterfinals.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: After a quiet, injury-hit start to the season in which Tsonga did not play at the Australian Open, he began his 2015 campaign at Miami, where he beat Tim Smyczek in his first match, but lost out to compatriot Gael Monfils in the second round. He reached the third round at the next two Masters 1000 events, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and the Mutua Madrid Open, losing out to Marin Cilic and Tomáš Berdych respectively.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga reached his second French Open semifinal and sixth overall at Grand Slam tournaments, with wins over fourth seed Tomáš Berdych and fifth seed Kei Nishikori in the fourth round and quarterfinals respectively. In the semifinals, he was defeated by eighth seed and eventual champion Stan Wawrinka, in four close sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga played at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships and won the first two rounds before losing out to Ivo Karlovic in the round of 32 in four sets. He then played for France at the Davis Cup tie against Great Britain; he lost his match against Andy Murray and France went on to lose the rubber 3–1. Tsonga lost to Murray again in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Rogers Cup, having previously beaten Bernard Tomic, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Borna Ćorić.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Seeded 19th at the 2015 US Open, Tsonga beat Jarkko Nieminen, Marcel Granollers, Sergiy Stakhovsky, and Benoît Paire to reach his second US Open quarterfinal without dropping a single service game. He then lost to the defending champion Marin Čilić in a tightly contested five-set match. Tsonga came back after losing the first two sets and saved three match points in the fourth to force a decider.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga won his twelfth singles title and third at the Moselle Open in Metz, France with a victory over compatriot Gilles Simon in a hard-fought three-set final match. Tsonga entered the 2015 Shanghai Rolex Masters ranked No. 15, and reached the final beating Kevin Anderson and Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively. He lost the final to Novak Djokovic, but despite the loss, re-entered the world's top 10.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga began the 2016 season at the Auckland tournament. As second seed he was exempt from the first round. He played against German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second and won in two sets, followed by a tight two-set victory against Fabio Fognini. In the semifinals, he lost in three sets against Roberto Bautista Agut after leading much of the match and missing a match point. He began the Australian Open by winning in four sets against Marcos Baghdatis, then beat the young Australian Omar Jasika in three sets before overcoming compatriot Pierre-Hugues Herbert, also in three sets. In the fourth round, he was defeated in three sets by seventh seed, Kei Nishikori.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga then played in the 2016 Argentina Open, where he was the third seed. Tsonga was beaten in the quarterfinals in straight sets by Spaniard Nicolás Almagro. Following the Argentina Open, he played in the Rio Open, where he was beaten in the first round by No. 338 Thiago Monteiro. Tsonga, along with Gaël Monfils, Gilles Simon, and Richard Gasquet, represented France in the 2016 Davis Cup World Group First round where France beat Canada 5–0. Tsonga played both singles, beating Frank Dancevic (who retired during the match), and doubles alongside Richard Gasquet, beating the Canadian doubles team in straight sets. Tsonga was the seventh seed at the Indian Wells Masters tournament and was exempt from the first round. She won his first match, beating countryman Vincent Millot and then faced 31st seed American Sam Querrey, defeating him in straight sets. Tsonga's followed up with a straight sets win against Dominic Thiem and reached his second quarterfinal at the tournament (the first being in 2013) where he was beaten by No. 1 Novak Djokovic. In the Miami Masters, Tsonga was beaten in the third round by Roberto Bautista Agut.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At the Monte Carlo Masters, Tsonga made it to the semifinals stage, where he was beaten in straight sets by countryman Gaël Monfils. In that quarterfinals, he beat third seed Roger Federer. This was his first top-10 win of the season. It was also the sixth time that he has beaten Federer in 17 matches. Tsonga was scheduled to play in the Estoril Open, but he withdrew with a knee injury. He played in the 2016 Madrid Open, where he was beaten in straight sets by Canadian Milos Raonic. He withdrew from the Italian Open with a muscle strain.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga, the sixth seed, retired with an adductor muscle injury from his French Open third-round match against Latvia's Ernests Gulbis when he was leading 5–2 in the first set. This injury also forced Tsonga to pull out of the 2016 Aegon Championships. Tsonga took part in Wimbledon, where he lost in the quarterfinals to the second seed Andy Murray in five sets, after holding three set points in the first set and having a break point at the start of the final set.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: After helping France to a Davis Cup win against the Czech Republic, Tsonga crashed out in the second round of the Rio Olympics. This was followed by a surprise round of 16 loss to Steve Johnson in Cincinnati. The US Open saw a turn in form for Tsonga, reaching the quarterfinals, following wins against Guido Andreozzi, James Duckworth, Kevin Anderson and Jack Sock. Tsonga eventually succumbed to injury and fatigue against Djokovic, having lost the first two sets comfortably. The final grand slam of the year preceded a quarterfinal appearance in Shanghai, eventually losing in two tight sets to Bautista Agut, a run to the final in Vienna, falling short against No. 2 Andy Murray, and finally a quarterfinal loss to Milos Raonic at the Paris Masters. Tsonga ended the season ranked No. 12.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At the Australian Open, Tsonga defeated No. 23 seed Jack Sock and unseeded Dan Evans in the third and fourth rounds respectively, both in four sets. He then fell to No. 4-seeded Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals in straight sets, marking Tsonga's best result at the tournament since his 2013 quarterfinal run.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: In February, Tsonga won the Rotterdam singles title, beating David Goffin in the final in three sets to earn his first ATP World Tour singles title since the 2015 Moselle Open in Metz in September 2015. Seven days later, Tsonga won his 14th career (and his second of the year) ATP World Tour singles title by defeating Lucas Pouille in the singles final of the Open 13 to become the Open 13 singles champion for a record third time.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Struggles with injury and the birth of Tsonga's first child had a significant impact on Tsonga's activity in the ensuing months. A first round loss to Fabio Fognini in Indian Wells, withdrawal from the Miami Masters, a second round loss in Monte Carlo to compatriot Adrian Mannarino, a second round withdrawal in Madrid and withdrawal from the Rome Masters were huge setbacks after an exciting start to the year.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: However, the end of May saw a return to winning ways for Tsonga as he cruised to a third ATP World Tour singles title of the season in Lyon. Wins over Carlos Berlocq, Karen Khachanov and Nikoloz Basilashvili set up a final against perennial foe Tomáš Berdych. A straight sets win saw Tsonga lift his first career ATP World Tour singles title on clay, as he improved to a 15–11 record in ATP World Tour finals. After struggling to string wins over the summer and the early autumn, Tsonga returned to the winner's circle in October, defeating Diego Schwartzman in straight sets to capture his fourth ATP World Tour singles title of the year at the European Open in Antwerp. In November, Tsonga along with Lucas Pouille, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Richard Gasquet helped France to capture their 10th Davis Cup and first in 16 years. Tsonga won his first singles match against Steve Darcis but lost his second singles match against David Goffin in the Davis Cup final against Belgium; France won the tie with a score of 3–2.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga played his first tournament of the year at the Australian Open, where he defeated the American qualifier Kevin King in straight sets in the first round. In the second round, Tsonga prevailed over the rising Canadian star Denis Shapovalov after being down 2–5 in the fifth set. In the third round, he


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: faced Nick Kyrgios, who before the match referred to Tsonga as his 'idol'; Tsonga lost the match in four sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga was called up to play for France in the 2018 Davis Cup World Group first-round tie against the Netherlands, but he withdrew one day before the start of the first singles match because of a knee injury. At the Open Sud de France, Tsonga held two match points when he was leading 6–1, 5–3 against Lucas Pouille in the semifinals before Tsonga was forced to retire from the match because of a left hamstring injury with the score at 6–1, 5-5.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: The Open Sud de France was Tsonga's second and last ATP World Tour tournament of the first four months of 2018. On 19 March, his ATP singles rankings fell to world no. 38, his lowest since he was ranked world no. 38 on 14 January 2008. Tsonga pulled out of five ATP World Tour tournaments that were to be held in February, March and April (Rotterdam, Marseille, Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo) due to injuries. He underwent left knee surgery on 3 April. Tsonga withdrew from the Masters 1000 tournaments in Madrid and Rome, the Lyon Open and the French Open because he had not recovered from his left knee surgery. On May 28 Tsonga was ranked outside the top 50 of the ATP singles rankings for the first time since 22 October 2007 when he was 22 years old. This was still due to his undergoing surgery earlier in the year on 3 April to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee that resulted in his not playing any tournaments for the next eight weeks. After missing three consecutive grand slam tournaments (French Open, Wimbledon and US Open) for the first time in his career, Tsonga finally made his return to competitive tennis at the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Metz held in September, where he lost his main draw first round match to Peter Gojowczyk. Tsonga won one and lost three singles matches in his next three events in Antwerp, Vienna and Paris. After the Paris Masters, he played just one more match, in the 2018 Davis Cup World Group final against Croatia; he lost the second singles rubber against Marin Čilić.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga began the season with a semifinal appearance at the Brisbane Open where he lost to 4th seed Daniil Medvedev. Two weeks later at the Australian Open, he played world number 1 Novak Djokovic in the second round. He lost in straight sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At the Open Sud de France, Tsonga won his first title since 2017 when he entered the tournament as a wildcard and defeated Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the final. He followed this up the next week with a quarterfinal appearance at the Rotterdam Open losing to 5th seed Daniil Medvedev.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga made the third round of Wimbledon where he played world number 2 Rafael Nadal. He lost in straight sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga defeated world number 8 Karen Khachanov in the second round of the Washington Open to register his first win over a top-10 player in almost two years. He lost in the next round to 13th seed Kyle Edmund in straight sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: In September, Tsonga won his second title of the year at the Moselle Open defeating Aljaž Bedene in the final.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga's last event of the year was the Paris Masters in October. As a wildcard, he made it to the quarterfinals defeating world number 9 Matteo Berrettini along the way. He played Rafael Nadal and lost in straight sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At the end of 2019, Tsonga's ranking had jumped from 239 at the beginning of the year to 29 at the end.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga only played two matches in 2020. The first one came at the Qatar Open where he went in as the 3rd seed and lost to Miomir Kecmanović in the first round. The second one came at the Australian Open where he went in as the 28th seed and lost to Alexei Popyrin in the first round.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: After the COVID-19 pandemic had shut down tennis in March, Tsonga decided to remain inactive for the rest of 2020 even when tennis came back in August.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga returned to the tour at the Open Sud de France where he lost in the first round to Sebastian Korda in straight sets. He recorded his first win of the year at the Open 13 where he defeated Feliciano López in straight sets but lost in the next round to 4th seed Ugo Humbert in straight sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: At the Dubai Open, Tsonga sustained an arm injury in his first round match against Malek Jaziri and retired after just six games. The injury would affect his results for the rest of the year.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga played his last match of the year at Wimbledon where he lost in the first round in five sets against Mikael Ymer. He was unable to return to action during the season due to injury.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga returned to the tour in February at the Open Sud de France using his protected ranking and won in the first round against Kacper Żuk in straight sets before losing to Filip Krajinović in the next round. He also advanced to the second round in the doubles tournament with partner Fabrice Martin by defeating Lucas Pouille and Albano Olivetti in the first round before succumbing in the following round to Jonathan Erlich and Édouard Roger-Vasselin.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: On 6 April 2022, Tsonga announced that he would retire at the 2022 French Open. He played his last match on 24 May against Casper Ruud in the first round, in which he lost in four sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga's most famous rivalry is perhaps against Novak Djokovic. They have met 23 times with Djokovic leading 17–6, including 7–1 in the Grand Slams. Their first meeting was in the final of the 2008 Australian; Djokovic and Tsonga had defeated the top two players, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in their respective semifinals in straight sets. Djokovic won the final in four sets to claim his first major title. Tsonga then won their next four meetings, before Djokovic stopped the streak at Miami in 2009.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Their next meeting at a Grand Slam was again at the Australian Open, in the 2010 quarterfinals, exactly two years to the day since Djokovic defeated him 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. It was not until another year and a half until they met again, with the stakes even higher, in the semifinals 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, 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 quarterfinals. After losing the first set, he 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 Tsonga's 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.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: They met again two months later at the Olympics, with Tsonga losing in straight sets in the quarterfinals. They met in the final of the 2012 China Open, with Tsonga again losing in straight sets. 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. It was his fifth loss to Djokovic in 2012.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: They then met 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-set victory. Prior to this victory, he had lost his last nine matches and 18 sets to Djokovic. They met again in the quarterfinals of the 2016 US Open, where Tsonga lost on a retirement after losing the first two sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: After two-and-a-half-years they met again in the second round of the 2019 Australian Open, where Djokovic won in straight sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga and Roger Federer have played 18 times, with Federer leading 12–6. They have met six times in Grand Slam tournaments with Federer leading 4–2; including their five-set matches in the quarterfinals of 2011 Wimbledon and 2013 Australian Open. Tsonga's victory at 2011 Wimbledon saw him become the first man in Grand Slam history to defeat Federer after dropping the first two sets. They have also one Grand Slam semifinal meeting in the 2010 Australian Open, with Federer winning in straight sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: They have played in the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals final with Federer winning in three-sets. The pair have also met in two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 finals. The first was in the 2011 BNP Paribas Masters, with Federer winning his first title in Bercy, and the second was in the 2014 Rogers Cup, with Tsonga winning his second Masters 1000 title.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Their most recent meeting came at the 2019 Halle Open, with Federer defeating Tsonga in 3 tight sets.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga is known for his offensive baseline style of play but is also able to mix his style of play up by rushing to the net. He is also currently one of the very few remaining players who often utilize a serve-and-volley type of play. His movement around the court is considered to be very good, considering his height. Tsonga is also known for his ability to serve well under pressure, having saved 67% of the break points he faced in his career as of today, which ranks him in the 4th position among active players. His two weaknesses are his return of serve and to a lesser extent his backhand.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga's serve is one of his fastest, strongest and most dominant shots, mixing both slice and speed, so enabling him to create and win easier points, such as an ace or a one-two-punch. Because of the action of his serve, which is dramatically abbreviated, he does very well to create as much power as he does, with speeds of up to 147 mph (237 km/h).


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga has achieved his best results on hard courts, most notably on the former Plexicushion Prestige surface at the Australian Open, where he made the final in 2008, the semifinals in 2010, and the quarterfinals in 2009, 2013, and 2017. In his career on the ATP circuit, the majority of his final appearances have come on hard courts. On grass, he reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2011 and 2012 and the quarterfinals in 2010 and 2016; he also reached the final of the Queen's Club Championships in 2011. In general, Tsonga has struggled on clay, although his clay-court skills are improving, as evidenced by his 2012 season, where he reached the quarterfinals at the French Open, Monte-Carlo, and Rome. In 2013, he reached the two first clay court semifinals of his career, first at the 2013 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, where he lost to Rafael Nadal, and at the 2013 French Open, where he lost to David Ferrer after beating No. 3 Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. He won his first clay-court tournament at the 2017 Lyon Open.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: Tsonga is known for his aggressive groundstrokes. His forehand and backhand are both effective in setting up points. His powerful, heavy and accurate forehand is his most consistent shot, especially when delivered down the line. Although his backhand is generally not as strong as his forehand during the rallies, he is very capable of hitting attacking shots on his backhand wing. His net play is skillful, especially on attack. He can play both two-handed and one-handed backhand. He added the one-handed backhand to his repertoire midway through 2011, as was evident in his matches against Andy Murray in the final of Queen's Club and against Federer in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. Although rarely used as a groundstroke in a neutral rally, it is particularly effective as a passing shot down the line or cross-court.


title: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

text: During the off-season in 2009, Tsonga switched rackets from Wilson to Babolat. He was using Babolat AeroPro Drive+ racket, but in July 2018, changed to the Babolat Pure Strike. His strings are LUXiLON Alu Power Rough strings. He is sponsored by Adidas for his attire.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The 2013 NFL season was the 94th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 48th of the Super Bowl era. The season saw the Seattle Seahawks capture the first championship in the franchise's 38 years in the league with a lopsided victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII, the league's championship game. The Super Bowl was played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday, February 2, 2014. It was the first Super Bowl hosted by New Jersey and the first to be held outdoors in a cold weather environment. The Seahawks scored 12 seconds into the game and held the lead the rest of the way on the back of their Legion of Boom defense.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was named the regular season's Most Valuable Player (MVP) by the voters of the Associated Press (AP) for a record fifth time after compiling passing stats which included regular season records for passing yards and passing touchdowns. Manning also was named the Offensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career. Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly earned Defensive Player of the Year honors.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Scoring reached historic levels throughout the league in 2013. As a whole the league set records for total points scored, points scored per game and the number of both touchdowns and field goals scored. The Broncos set a new standard for team scoring in the regular season with 606 points. In addition to the Broncos, ten other teams each scored over 400 points, the greatest number of teams to surpass that benchmark in a single year.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The regular season got underway on Thursday, September 5, 2013, with the Broncos hosting the defending Super Bowl XLVII champion Baltimore Ravens in the annual kickoff game. The game presaged the Broncos' historic offensive production with a strong performance by Peyton Manning in which he tied a league record in throwing seven touchdown passes and led the Broncos to a win. The game was the start of a disappointing season for the Ravens in which they would finish out of the playoffs with an , thus ensuring that there would be no repeat Super Bowl winner for a tied record ninth straight season. The regular season wrapped up on Sunday night, December 29.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The playoffs began with the wild card round which took place the first weekend of January 2014. The league's propensity for scoring did not abate in the post-season, as exemplified by the Indianapolis Colts' wild come-from-behind over the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs' opening game. The Conference Championship games featured the top seeded teams in each conference, the Seahawks in the NFC and the Broncos in the American Football Conference (AFC), hosting the San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots respectively. Both home teams prevailed to set up just the second Super Bowl matchup of No. 1 seeds in the past 20 seasons.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The 2013 league year began at 4 pm EST on March 12, which marked the start of the league's free agency period. The per-team salary cap was set at . For the first time the league instituted a negotiating period prior to the start of free agency during which time agents representing prospective unrestricted free agent players (though not the players themselves) were allowed to have contact with team representatives with the purpose of determining a player's market value and to begin contract negotiations. This period, which was referred to by some as the "legal tampering" period, began at midnight on March 9.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: A total of 524 players were eligible for some form of free agency. Among the high-profile players who changed teams via free agency included:


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Eight players were assigned the non-exclusive franchise tag by their teams, which ensured that the team would receive compensation were the player to sign a contract with another team. These players were Brandon Albert (Chiefs), Jairus Byrd (Bills), Ryan Clady (Broncos), Michael Johnson (Bengals), Pat McAfee (Colts), Henry Melton (Bears), Anthony Spencer (Cowboys) and Randy Starks (Dolphins). None of these players changed teams.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The following trades are notable as they involved Pro Bowl-caliber players and/or draft picks in the first three rounds:


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The 2013 NFL Draft was held April 25–27, 2013, in New York City. Prior to the draft the NFL Scouting Combine, where draft-eligible players were evaluated by team personnel, was held in Indianapolis on February 20–26. In the draft, the Kansas City Chiefs made Central Michigan University offensive tackle Eric Fisher the first overall selection.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Dean Blandino was named as the league's new Vice President of Officiating, succeeding Carl Johnson. Referee Alberto Riveron was then promoted to the league's Senior Director of Officiating, a newly created position as a second-in-command under Blandino. Bill Vinovich, who worked the previous season as a substitute referee, was then assigned to head Riveron's former on-field officiating crew.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Training camps for the 2013 season opened in late July. The Buccaneers camp was the first to open with rookies reporting on July 17. The Cowboys were the first to open camp to veteran players on July 20. All teams were in camp by July 27.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Prior to the start of the regular season, each team played at least four preseason exhibition games. The preseason schedule got underway with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Sunday, August 4. The Hall of Fame game is a traditional part of the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame induction weekend celebrating new Hall of Fame members. It was played at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio, which is located adjacent to the Hall of Fame building. In the game, which was televised nationally on NBC, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins 24–20. The 2013 Hall of Fame class of Larry Allen, Cris Carter, Curley Culp, Jonathan Ogden, Bill Parcells, Dave Robinson and Warren Sapp was honored during the game. The 65-game preseason schedule concluded on Thursday, August 29.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The 2013 season featured 256 games played out over a seventeen-week schedule which began on the Thursday night following Labor Day. Each of the league's 32 teams played a 16-game schedule which included one bye week for each team between weeks four and twelve. The slate featured seventeen games on Monday night including a doubleheader in the season's opening week. There were also seventeen games played on Thursday, including the National Football League Kickoff game in prime time on September 5 and three games on Thanksgiving Day. The regular season wrapped up with a full slate of 16 games on Sunday, December 29, all of which were intra-divisional matchups.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Under the NFL's scheduling formula, each team played each of the other three teams in their own division twice. In addition, a team played against all four teams in one other division from each conference. The final two games on a team's schedule were against the two teams in the team's own conference in the divisions the team was not set to play who finished the previous season in the same rank in their division (e.g. the team which finished first in its division the previous season would play each other team in their conference that also finished first in its respective division). The pre-set division pairings for 2013 were as follows:


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The 2013 regular season began on Thursday, September 5, with the NFL Kickoff Game in which the Denver hosted the Baltimore. The game was a rematch of a two-overtime playoff game of the previous season and broadcast on NBC. The Ravens, as the reigning Super Bowl champions, would normally have hosted the kickoff game, however, a scheduling conflict with their Major League Baseball counterparts, the Baltimore Orioles, forced the Ravens to start the season on the road (the Ravens' and Orioles' respective stadiums share parking facilities). The Ravens became the first Super Bowl winner since to open their title defense on the road. The Broncos defeated the Ravens 49–27 on the strength of a record-setting performance by quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning completed 27 of 42 pass attempts for 462 yards and seven touchdowns. Manning set or tied numerous league records in the game including most touchdown passes in a game (tied with five others) and records for most career games with at least six, five and four touchdown passes.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: There were two NFL International Series games held at Wembley Stadium in London. On September 29, the Minnesota defeated the Pittsburgh 34–27. On October 27, the San Francisco defeated the Jacksonville 42–10. This season was the first of a four-year agreement for the Jaguars to play a home game in London (an agreement which was later extended an additional four years).


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The San Diego and Oakland played an unusual late night game in the season's fifth week on October 6. The game, originally scheduled to start at 1:25 pm PDT, had to be moved to the evening to accommodate stadium schedules – Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics, co-tenants of O.co Coliseum, had hosted the Game 2 of the 2013 American League Division Series the previous night and stadium crews needed nearly 24 hours to convert the stadium from a baseball to a football configuration. O.co Coliseum was only multi-purpose stadium which hosted both an NFL and an MLB team in 2013. Although the stadium conversion was complete by 3:30 pm local time, an 8:36 pm kickoff was necessary to avoid conflict with NBC's "Sunday Night Football", where the San Francisco hosted the Houston at Candlestick Park across the San Francisco Bay. The Chargers-Raiders game was the latest start time for a game in NFL history and was broadcast nationwide on the NFL Network.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The league's traditional slate of Thanksgiving Day games was played on Thursday, November 28. The Detroit hosted the Green Bay in the early game at 12:30 pm EST, marking the Packers' 21st Thanksgiving game in Detroit. The Oakland visited the Dallas in the late afternoon game at 3:30 pm CST. The evening game featured the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore hosting their AFC North rival Pittsburgh at 8:30 pm EST.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The Buffalo hosted the Atlanta in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on December 1. The game was played at Rogers Centre one week after the 101st Grey Cup ended the 2013 Canadian Football League season. On January 9, the Bills and Rogers Communications had announced a five-year extension of the Bills Toronto Series.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The following regular season games were moved either by way of flexible scheduling, severe weather, or for other reasons:


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The wild card round of the playoffs featured the two wild card playoff qualifiers from each conference being hosted by the two lowest seeded divisional winners. The top two seeds in each conference – the Seahawks, Panthers, Broncos and Patriots – all had first-round byes. The games were played January 4–5, 2014.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The divisional round games were played on January 11–12, 2014 and three of the four were rematches of regular season games – only the Patriots and Colts had not met in 2013.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The early game featured the Broncos hosting the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. The game was referred to by many as Manning-Brady XV as it was the fifteenth meeting (the fourth in the playoffs) of the two starting quarterbacks, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. The Broncos defeated Brady and the Patriots 26–16 behind a 400-yard passing performance by Manning. Manning led the Broncos on two long touchdown drives where each used over seven minutes of game time and were the two longest drives in terms of game time of the Broncos season. This was Manning's third career postseason game with 400 or more yards passing, equaling Drew Brees for the most such playoff games in league history. Broncos head coach John Fox, who previously led the Carolina Panthers to Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004, became the sixth head coach in NFL history to take two different franchises to the Super Bowl.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The NFC Championship Game had the Seahawks hosting the 49ers in the late game. The Seahawks defense forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter which proved to be the difference in the game. The last of these was a pass intended for Michael Crabtree in the endzone which was intercepted by Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith off a deflection by cornerback Richard Sherman with just 22 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The interception preserved a 23–17 Seahawks victory. In an on-field interview immediately after the game with Fox sideline reporter Erin Andrews, Sherman famously directed a rant at Crabtree whom Sherman called a "sorry receiver."


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Super Bowl XLVIII featured the top seeded team from each conference for just the second time in twenty years. The Broncos possessed the league's best offense (in terms of both scoring and yards) while the Seahawks had the league's top defense (also in both scoring and yardage). The game was played on February 2, 2014 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, just outside New York City and was televised in the U.S. by Fox with kickoff at 6:32 pm EST. This was the first ever Super Bowl to be staged outdoors in a cold weather environment although the temperature was a mild 49 degrees at kickoff.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The game started disastrously for the Broncos who, despite losing the coin toss, received the opening kickoff. On the game's first play from scrimmage from the Broncos' 14 yard line, Broncos center Manny Ramirez sent a shotgun snap over the head of quarterback Peyton Manning. The ball traveled into the endzone where it was covered by Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno who was touched down for a safety with just 12 seconds of game time elapsed. This was the quickest score ever in a Super Bowl. The Seahawks did not relinquish the lead in a 43–8 victory.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: This was the Seahawks first ever league championship since entering the NFL in . Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith, who scored on a 69-yard interception return plus had a fumble recovery and tallied 10 tackles, was named the game's Most Valuable Player (MVP).


title: 2013 NFL season

text: This was the fifth Super Bowl loss for the Broncos, the most for any franchise. Even in defeat, though, Peyton Manning's record-breaking year continued. He set a record for most passes completed in a Super Bowl with 34. He also moved ahead of Tom Brady into first place on the career playoff passing yardage list with 6,589 yards. In addition, Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas caught 13 passes to set a single-game Super Bowl record.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The Pro Bowl is the league's all-star game. The league had raised doubts about the future of the exhibition due to concerns over the game's competitiveness in recent years, but on March 20, it was announced that the 2014 Pro Bowl would indeed take place, receiving a one-year reprieve. As in recent years, the game was held the week before the Super Bowl at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was played on Sunday, January 26, and broadcast in the U.S. on NBC.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The format for the game was considerably altered in an effort to improve competitiveness. The biggest changes included an "unconferenced" format in which players would be selected regardless of the conference in which their team competes, a draft format to select the teams and various tweaks to increase the excitement of the game itself. Deion Sanders and Jerry Rice served as the non-playing captains for the two competing squads.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: A nationwide poll conducted by Harris Interactive in December 2013 concluded that pro football is the favorite sport of Americans. Of the respondents asked the question, "If you had to choose, which ONE of these sports would you say is your favorite?", 35% chose pro football. That is up by one percentage point over the results of the previous year. Football has taken the top spot in the annual poll each year since it was first conducted in 1985. Baseball finished second, with 14% naming it as their favorite, followed by college football at 11%.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: In August, former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd. Hernandez was released by the Patriots following his arrest in the murder investigation in June. In an effort to further distance themselves from the troubled Hernandez, the Patriots offered fans an opportunity to trade-in Hernandez jerseys for another jersey of comparable value. Hernandez would be convicted of the murder charge and sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2015.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper was caught on video using a racial slur during a music concert. After the video went viral during the team's training camp, Cooper was briefly sent away from the team to seek counseling. The Eagles also levied an undisclosed fine.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: In August, just prior to the start of the season, a settlement proposal was announced in a class-action lawsuit brought against the league by former players who contended that the league concealed a link between head injuries sustained by players and traumatic brain injury which may only become apparent later in life. The judge in the case later rejected the settlement on the grounds that the amount may not be large enough to cover the needs of all the plaintiffs.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: In October, the Buccaneers released quarterback Josh Freeman after trying unsuccessfully to trade him. Freeman had been considered one of the league's best young quarterbacks after leading the Bucs to a in 2010, but he clashed with head coach Greg Schiano (who took over in 2012) and was benched earlier in the year. Despite being just 25 years old, Freeman held franchise records for touchdowns and completions and was second in passing yardage. It had come out earlier in the week that Freeman had been in the league's substance abuse program; Freeman described his participation as voluntary and a result of prescription drugs he was taking to treat ADHD. Shortly after his release, Freeman was signed by the Vikings. Freeman started for the Vikings in week seven, but he posted a passer rating of just 40.6 in that game and did not play another down during the season. He was inactive for nine of the Vikings' final ten games.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Three Buccaneers players – kicker Lawrence Tynes, guard Carl Nicks and cornerback Johnthan Banks – were diagnosed with methicillin-resistant "Staphylococcus aureus" (MRSA) infections during the season. The potentially deadly strain of staph had been encountered by other NFL teams including the Washington Redskins, St. Louis Rams and Cleveland Browns in previous seasons. After the third infection was confirmed there was brief discussion as to whether the Bucs' week six home game against the Eagles would be played, but the decision was made to continue with the scheduled game. The Falcons even took the step of bringing in a hazardous materials crew to disinfect the visitor's locker room after the Bucs' visited Atlanta in week seven.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Dolphins offensive lineman Richie Incognito was suspended by the team in November after allegations surfaced that he bullied fellow lineman Jonathan Martin who left the team earlier in the season due to the impact of Incognito's actions.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The league's official investigation into the matter concluded that Martin and other Dolphins employees had been subjected to a "pattern of harassment" at the hands of Incognito as well as fellow linemen John Jerry and Mike Pouncey. The 144-page report, written by league-appointed investigator Ted Wells, called the situation a "classic case of bullying". The report also implicated Dolphins offensive line coach Jim Turner in some of the abuse; Turner was fired by the team shortly after the report's release.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan made a decision to bench the team's franchise quarterback, Robert Griffin III for the team's final three games of the 2013 season. Griffin had undergone knee surgery after being injured the previous season in which he was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after being selected second overall in the 2012 draft. Griffin was much less productive in his second season. Shanahan stated that the decision to start Kirk Cousins over Griffin was made to protect Griffin from sustaining another injury, although there was speculation that Shanahan was unhappy about Griffin's friendly relationship with team owner Daniel Snyder. Shanahan was fired after the season ended.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Russell Wilson the second-year quarterback of the Super Bowl champion Seahawks led all NFL players in terms of total licensed product sales (jerseys, T-shirts, figurines, photos, etc.) made from March 2013 through February 2014. The top six players on the list were quarterbacks, including, in order, Peyton Manning (who held the top spot the previous year), Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. The only non-quarterback in the top 10 was Wilson's Seahawks teammate, running back Marshawn Lynch.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Legendary Hall of Fame defensive lineman Deacon Jones died in June. Shortly thereafter the league honored Jones' legacy by creating the "Deacon Jones Award" to be given annually to the player who records the most quarterback sacks. Colts linebacker Robert Mathis was the inaugural winner of the honor.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Tennessee Titans owner Kenneth S. "Bud" Adams died in October. He was the only owner the franchise, which began in 1960 as the Houston Oilers in the AFL, has ever had. Adams was a second-generation oil tycoon who made his home in Houston, Texas. The team was inherited in equal parts by the families of Adams' three children with Adams' son-in-law Tommy Smith succeeding Adams as the president and CEO of the franchise.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The 2013 season saw a number of league records set, most notably:*A record 11,985 points were scored during the season, with games averaging 46.8 points, the highest average in NFL history (46.5 in ).


title: 2013 NFL season

text: The 3rd Annual NFL Honors, saluting the best players and plays from 2013 season, was held on February 1, 2014, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: 2013 marked the final season in which the Minnesota Vikings played their home games at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, as the team moved temporarily to TCF Bank Stadium (home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers) while their U.S. Bank Stadium was built at the same site as the Metrodome. The Vikings played the 2014 and 2015 seasons at TCF Bank Stadium and opened their new stadium for the 2016 season. The Vikings had called the Metrodome home since it opened in 1982.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: This was also the final season in which the San Francisco 49ers played their home games at Candlestick Park, as the team moved into the newly built Levi's Stadium located in Santa Clara, California, for . The 49ers had played in Candlestick since 1971 and the stadium hosted "Monday Night Football" 36 times, including the stadium's farewell game on December 23. No other facility had as many "Monday Night Football" appearances. With the departure of the 49ers, Candlestick Park was left without any permanent tenants. On February 3, 2013, plans to demolish Candlestick Park were announced and took place after the final 2013 49ers game.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Two stadiums received new naming rights: In January 2013, Cleveland Browns Stadium was renamed FirstEnergy Stadium. The FirstEnergy Corporation, an energy company based in Akron, Ohio, agreed to pay the Cleveland Browns $6 million per year for 17 years to have its name on the team's stadium. In July 2013, Cowboys Stadium was re-branded as AT&T Stadium, though terms of the naming rights deal remain undisclosed.


title: 2013 NFL season

text: Due to a new recommendation that a player should use the same helmet for all games, several teams were forced to make changes in their plans to use alternate and throwback jerseys, including the following:


title: 2013 NFL season

text: This was the eighth and final year of the television contracts with CBS, Fox, NBC, and ESPN before the new nine-year contracts began in 2014. CBS and Fox continued to carry the Sunday afternoon AFC and NFC packages, respectively. NBC carried Sunday Night Football, the kickoff game, and the prime-time Thanksgiving game; and ESPN aired seventeen Monday Night games in sixteen weeks.


title: Hereford

text: Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population of 53,112 in 2021 it is by far the largest settlement in Herefordshire.


title: Hereford

text: An early town charter from 1189, granted by Richard I of England, describes it as "Hereford in Wales". Hereford has been recognised as a city since time immemorial, with the status being reconfirmed as recently as October 2000.


title: Hereford

text: It is now known chiefly as a trading centre for a wider agricultural and rural area. Products from Hereford include cider, beer, leather goods, nickel alloys, poultry, chemicals and sausage rolls, as well as the famous Hereford breed of cattle.


title: Hereford

text: The Herefordshire edition of Cambridge County Geographies states "a Welsh derivation of Hereford is more probable than a Saxon one" but the name "Hereford" is also said to come from the Anglo-Saxon ""here"", an army or formation of soldiers, and the "ford", a place for crossing a river (cf. Herford, Westphalia, with the same Saxon etymology). If this is the origin it suggests that Hereford was a place where a body of armed men forded or crossed the Wye. The Welsh name for Hereford is "Henffordd", meaning "old road", and probably refers to the Roman road and Roman settlement at nearby Stretton Sugwas. Some historical documents refer to "Hereford in Wales".


title: Hereford

text: Hereford became the seat of Putta, Bishop of Hereford, some time between 676 and 688 AD, after which the settlement continued to grow due to its proximity to the border between Mercia and Wales, becoming the Saxon capital of West Mercia by the beginning of the 8th century.


title: Hereford

text: Hostilities between the Anglo-Saxons and the Welsh came to a head with the Battle of Hereford in 760, in which the Britons freed themselves from the influence of the English. Hereford was again targeted by the Welsh during their conflict with the Anglo-Saxon King Edward the Confessor in 1056 when, supported by Viking allies, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd and Powys, marched on the town and put it to the torch before returning home in triumph. Hereford had the only mint west of the Severn in the reign of Athelstan (924–939), and it was to Hereford, then a border town, that Athelstan summoned the leading Welsh princes.


title: Hereford

text: The present Hereford Cathedral dates from the early 12th century, as does the first bridge across the Wye. Former Bishops of Hereford include Saint Thomas de Cantilupe and Lord High Treasurer of England Thomas Charlton.


title: Hereford

text: The city gave its name to two suburbs of Paris, France: Maisons-Alfort (population 54,600) and Alfortville (population 36,232), due to a manor built there by Peter of Aigueblanche, Bishop of Hereford, in the middle of the 13th century.


title: Hereford

text: Hereford, a base for successive holders of the title Earl of Hereford, was once the site of a castle, Hereford Castle, which rivalled that of Windsor in size and scale. This was a base for repelling Welsh attacks and a secure stronghold for English kings such as King Henry IV when on campaign in the Welsh Marches against Owain Glyndŵr. The castle was dismantled in the 18th century and landscaped into Castle Green.


title: Hereford

text: After the Battle of Mortimer's Cross in 1461, during the Wars of the Roses, the defeated Lancastrian leader Owen Tudor (grandfather of the future Henry VII of England) was taken to Hereford by Sir Roger Vaughan and executed in High Town. A plaque now marks the spot of the execution. Vaughan was later himself executed, under a flag of truce, by Owen's son Jasper.


title: Hereford

text: During the civil war, the city changed hands several times. On 30 September 1642 Parliamentarians led by Sir Robert Harley and Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford occupied the city without opposition. In December they withdrew to Gloucester because of the presence in the area of a Royalist army under Lord Herbert. The city was again occupied briefly from 23 April to 18 May 1643 by Parliamentarians commanded by Sir William Waller but it was in 1645 that the city saw most action. On 31 July 1645 a Scottish army of 14,000 under Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven besieged the city but met stiff resistance from its garrison and inhabitants. They withdrew on 1 September when they received news that a force led by King Charles was approaching. The city was finally taken for Parliament on 18 December 1645 by Colonel Birch and Colonel Morgan. King Charles showed his gratitude to the city of Hereford on 16 September 1645 by augmenting the city's coat of arms with the three lions of Richard I of England, ten Scottish Saltires signifying the ten defeated Scottish regiments, a very rare lion crest on top of the coat of arms signifying "defender of the faith" and the even rarer gold-barred peer's helm, found only on the arms of one other municipal authority: those of the City of London.


title: Hereford

text: Nell Gwynne, actress and mistress of King Charles II, is said to have been born in Hereford in 1650 (although other towns and cities, notably Oxford, claim her as their own); Gwynn Street is named after her. Another famous actor born in Hereford is David Garrick (1717–1779).


title: Hereford

text: The Bishop's Palace next to the cathedral was built in 1204 and continually used to the present day. Hereford Cathedral School is one of the oldest schools in England. The Harold Street Barracks were completed in 1856.


title: Hereford

text: During World War I, in 1916, a fire at the Garrick Theatre killed eight young girls who had been performing at a charity concert.


title: Hereford

text: The main local government body covering Hereford is Herefordshire Council. Hereford has a "City Council" but this is actually a parish council with city status, and has only limited powers.


title: Hereford

text: Historically Hereford has been the county town of Herefordshire. In 1974 Herefordshire was merged with Worcestershire to become part of the county of Hereford and Worcester, and Hereford became a district of the new county. Hereford had formed a historic borough and was reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. On 1 April 1998 the County of Hereford and Worcester was abolished, and Herefordshire and Worcestershire were re-established as separate counties.


title: Hereford

text: However the new Herefordshire was a unitary authority without any districts, and so Hereford lost its district status (although, confusingly, the authority's full legal name is the County of Herefordshire District Council). Charter Trustees were appointed to preserve mayoral traditions until a civil parish council could be set up, which happened in 2000. Hereford is one of only eight civil parishes in England which have city status. It is based at Hereford Town Hall.


title: Hereford

text: Hereford was the name of a parliamentary constituency that was centered in the city, from 1295 to 2010, when it was renamed as Hereford and South Herefordshire. The current Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons for Hereford and South Herefordshire is Jesse Norman of the Conservative Party.


title: Hereford

text: As with all of the UK, Hereford experiences a maritime climate, with limited seasonal temperature ranges, and generally moderate rainfall throughout the year. The nearest Met Office weather station for which 30-year averages are available is Credenhill weather station, about north east of the city centre. Before 2001, the weather station at Preston Wynne (7 miles, 11 km to the north-east) provided the data.


title: Hereford

text: Since 2001, extremes at Hereford Credenhill have ranged from during July 2006, to as low as during December 2010.


title: Hereford

text: Hereford, as an ancient crossing over the River Wye, has long been important within the regional and national transport network. Today, the town is served by several major routes, including:


title: Hereford

text: Along the northern rim of the city, the A4103 is named "Roman Road", running in a straight line from east to west.


title: Hereford

text: Only one of these major routes crosses the River Wye, the A49/Victoria Street, which is carried by Greyfriars Bridge.


title: Hereford

text: In 2017, Hereford was named "Britain's second slowest city", with an average traffic speed of 14.09 mph. Cambridge topped the list, whilst London came third with vehicles travelling at an average 14.59 mph.


title: Hereford

text: There have been plans for many years for a north–south bypass and currently the plan is for a nine-mile (14 km) dual carriageway; however, HM Government as yet has refused to grant permission or supply funds. However, the Hereford Link Road was completed in December 2017, costing around £34,000,000 to build. There are plans to add new homes, a university building and a transport hub to this area.