Oz Thumbs Down: The Tricolore
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The national motto of France is Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. But the national motto of French tennis is more like Bewitch, Promise, Gag.
Was there a more disappointing one-two fold at the Australian Open than the one turned in by those two superbly gifted French players, Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga?
I suppose you can add Richard Gasquet (the artist formerly known as "Baby Federer") to make it a trinity, although Monfils and Tsonga have proven themselves of a superior class, results-wise if not on pure talent (although in my opinion it's both). It's probably painful for the faithful, but let's review.
Gasquet (ATP No. 16): Down at Hopman Cup, Gasquet generated some headlines (okay, it was a pretty slow week) when he declared that he wanted to turn over a new leaf, get himself back up into that Top 10 territory he inhabited at times in 2007 and 2008. "I will try and break into the Top 10, I did it some years ago and I'm not far this year too," he told reporters at the Hopman Cup. "I think I will be able to do it this year in 2012."
But after leading France to the final of that exhibition, Gasquet lost to No. 67 Dennis Istomin in Sydney. He did a decent job reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, but then was totally blown out by No. 5 David Ferrer, who allowed Gasquet just five games.
Monfils (ATP No. 13): Does it tell you something that La Monf's career-high ranking is the same as Gasquet's, No. 7? Now he's ranked just three places ahead of Gasquet. Monfils won the fourth ATP title of his career in Stockholm last fall, and when he racked up his second career win over Rafael Nadal at Doha, he understandably rekindled hope. Hey, by the end of that win over Rafa, the Doha crowd was chanting Monfils' name.
Monfils was giving his friend and countryman Tsonga all he wanted in the Doha final, but he lost control of his lead late in the first set and went down, 7-5, 6-3. Instead of a potentially career-shaping win, Monflis had to settle for his 12th loss in a final. But with the two Frenchmen emerging from a loaded field to play the final, things were looking pretty good for the Tricolore set at Melbourne.
At the Australian Open, Monfils lasted just three rounds before he crashed out at the hands of No. 92 Mikhail Kukushkin, 6-4 in the fifth.
Tsonga (ATP No. 6): The only player who was considered more of an outside threat than Tsonga to win the first Grand Slam of the year was Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. Berdych would go down with his head high, losing in the quarterfinals (he made his seed, No. 7) to the eventual runner up, Nadal. Too good.
By contrast, Tsonga, seeded sixth, was laid low by lowly No. 24 Kei Nishikori in the fourth round. It wasn't just that Tsonga lost, but how he lost. Tsonga outweighs Nishikori by a good 50 pounds and has a four-inch height advantage. But, as the five-setter wore on, Tsonga seemed to lose the physical battle—even though the sets were lopsided either way (neither player won more than three games in losing any of the sets).
Looking tired and out of sorts, Tsonga tried to blast his way to the win, showing none of the patience and determination that are essential ingredients for success at major events. Granted, Nishikori can be a tough customer, and he's made steady progress with his solid, hard-hitting baseline game (he cracked the Top 20 by virtue of that win over Tsonga). But Tsonga, who made the only Grand Salm final of his career on the same Melbourne Park courts in 2008, was one of the major disappointments in Oz.
If you're a glutton for punishment on this topic, you might also consider the resume of Gilles Simon, currently No. 12. He's the least talked-about among the top French players, yet he's been ranked higher (No. 6) than either Gasquet or Monfils, and he's an admirable—and un-Gallic—9-2 in finals. That's the best winning percentage, as well as greatest number of titles, of this entire group.
Simon lost in the second round in Melbourne to 30-year-old Julien Benneteau, ranked No. 39. That was the bad news. The good news is that the winner was his countryman, and although he went out in the next round (l. to Nishikori), Benneteau he was one Frenchman who exceeded expectations.