Ruud took 3 hours 49 minutes to get to the 2nd round. What on paper looked like an opening match worthy of being a nail-biting affair.

The Norwegian won 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6 after Tsonga struggled through the fourth set. The arms cannot support the weight. He gave everything he had along the way.

He finished with tears in his eyes in front of an almost full stadium. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has the whole Philippe Chartier behind him. About 10,000 at most. The setting around the match is very special. When he broke Ruud’s serve to 6-5 in the fourth set, the crowd burst into a frenzy singing the French national anthem.

– I don’t want to talk about the match. I want to talk about Jo,” said Ruud from midfield after the game.

– You have been an inspiration to me and many other young players around the world. Thanks for all the memories, the Norwegian continued, while the French nodded appreciatively.

End of career

The main stage of the French Open cheered for every point and “Allez Jo” echoed from all over the stadium. Everyone knew this was his last tournament.

Almost everyone understood that this would be his last match.

Because it had been a long time since he was good enough to catch up with the world’s elites. Injuries and multiple restarts have lowered his rankings, and it’s been almost three years since he last won a tournament.

Number 297 in the rankings shouldn’t be too comparable to number eight in the world. But Tsonga – with more and more spectators behind – rocked Ruud.

He stands well in ball exchanges, varying play and forcing mistakes. The first set he took by surprise after the tiebreak. Glimpse of old greatness came in droves. In two and a half hours, he rose nearly 300 places in the rankings.

Even when Ruud broke Tsonga to make it 4-3, the Frenchman hit back by breaking. But the tiebreak in the second set was in Norway’s favor.

Then also towards the end of Tsonga’s career. He also almost broke a direct hit in the third set, but Ruud won comfortably.

Tsonga was given a full chance to extend to five sets. He broke Ruud’s serve and was able to serve for the fourth set. But then the pain became too intense. In the third tiebreak of the match, he was without a chance.

Now Emil Ruusuvuori is waiting for Ruud in the 2nd round. The match was played on Thursday.

Beat all the stars

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is a divided figure in France. At his best, he is an artist with his explosion, speed and variety in the game.

But the question that many people never receive an answer to is the same as the Norwegian question of John Carew: “How good is he really?”.

Novak Djokovic described him as one of the most charismatic and energetic players on the ATP Tour. Often among the top ten, but never the best.

Because he was never a tennis player around his neck, like Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer. He never had the dedication of Djokovic or Andy Murray. But in his best days, he is the best in the world. Unbeatable. Like when he won the Masters tournament in Toronto in 2014 beating Federer, having beaten Djokovic and Murray on the road.

Five World

Tsonga is ranked number five of the best in the world. He reached the Australian Open final aged 22 in 2008, but was never a Grand Slam winner. Four times he lost from the semifinals.

In total, there have been 18 singles player titles on the ATP tour, two of which have been the most generous. In addition, they won an Olympic silver medal and four doubles titles.

The end of his career may not have gone as Tsonga had hoped, but it still went much better than expected. At home – in front of 10,000 French people – he showed that he could still catch up to the stars.