First Time ATP Winner Spotlight: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

© Getty ImagesJo-Wilfried Tsonga

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga captured his first ATP title Sunday at the Thailand Open in Bangkok, defeating top seed Novak Djokovic 7-6(4), 6-4.

The 23-year-old, who lost to Djokovic in the Australian Open final, becomes the ninth first-time ATP winner this season. atpworldtour.com caught up with Tsonga after his maiden triumph on Sunday.

How does it feel to win your first ATP title?
I feel great, it’s got to be one of the best moments of my life. I just played unbelievable tennis against Novak and it was just my dream so I’m really happy.

What do you think decided it in the match?
[It came down to] maybe a couple of points. The last game was very hard and I was just saying in my head “Go On! Do It!” so it was incredible.

How did you go into the match? Were you thinking about your other final? Were you nervous?
I was not nervous (about the match), I was just a little bit nervous about Novak because he has played just unbelievably and, for me, it’s difficult to play against him because I have a really good serve and I think one of the best parts of his game is the return. So for me it’s very difficult to play against him.

You've had many injuries over the years, including your knee in the spring. During all the rehab and training, did you think about one day winning an ATP title?
Yes, when you are doing your rehabilitation you are just saying in your head – “Come on. I’m not doing it for nothing. And when I’m back on the court I will play my best tennis.”

You had a tight first match with Dlouhy, winning in a third set tie-break before winning easily the next two rounds. What did you do well this week to put everything together to win?
This week I was just very aggressive and I think I was very strong in my mind because after the first game I said “Ok, I didn’t play so well but I’m here and I will play another match.”

It's been eight months and one day since you played the Australian Open final against Novak. Did you learn anything from that match that helped you going into today's final?
Of course I learnt a lot of things. For me it was very difficult, this final (in Australia), because it was over four sets and maybe I missed some shots that I should have made so I had a little bit of regret. So for me today I had a little bit of revenge.

You jumped to No. 15 in the ATP 2008 Race and are definitely in contention for the Tennis Masters Cup with a lot of big tournaments coming up. Have you thought much about trying to make it to Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai?
Of course, all the time. I think all the players in the Top 20 think about it and I have to because [the ATP 2008 Race] is not finished yet and I can do it. So we will see.

You are the fourth different Frenchman to win an ATP title this year. There are 15 French players in the Top 100. What are your thoughts on French tennis?
It’s doing great. It’s one of the best periods for French tennis and we have won a lot of tournaments this year. There are some young players coming through so we’ll see what happens in the future but we hope to win one Grand Slam title, or maybe more.

Despite missing more than three months you are ranked well into the Top 20. What are your goals for the rest of the season? What were your goals going into this year?
I think my goal is going to be to reach the Tennis Masters Cup. But for me the most important thing is to play well, because if I don’t play well I can’t go to the Tennis Masters Cup.