Tsonga Fears Only His Mother; Aims For Strong Start Versus Federer Sunday

© Getty ImagesJo-Wilfried Tsonga was in a confident mood on Friday.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who competes at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the first time in three years, revealed on Friday that the only person that intimidates him is his mother, Evelyne.

"There's only three players winning Grand Slams right now, but I am never intimidated when I walk out on court," said Tsonga. "The only person who intimidates me is my mother, when she is angry with me."

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The Frenchman was in a confident mood at The O2, realising the key was to get off to a good start. On Sunday, he plays Roger Federer in his first Group B round-robin match.

"For me it is really important to start the tournament well, because when I play with a lot of confidence I know I can do big things and do well," said Tsonga. "In sport you are never sure about the level of your opponent, so I will just try to be as ready as possible.

"The [BNP Paribas Masters] final in Paris will have a little bearing on when I meet Roger in two days times. Every time you play someone you learn something new. Last week, I learnt than Roger was better than me! At Wimbledon [in June], I was better than him."

Looking back on his 3-6, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Federer in the Wimbledon quarter-finals this year, Tsonga said, "To come back against Roger is not like coming back against other players. He is the best player ever and of course it is something big. You always go onto court to win, but I found myself two sets down. I fought to the final point."

The 26-year-old Tsonga is appearing at the season finale for the second time. Three years ago, he went 1-2 in round-robin play when the event was held in Shanghai.

"It's good to be here," he said. "It's not every year for me, so it is something special. I have made a lot of sacrifices and worked this year to achieve this. Beating Rafa [Nadal] at Queen's Club and Roger [Federer] at Wimbledon gave me the confidence I could qualify for this tournament again.

"It's been really exciting the past two months, playing towards a goal. After the US Open, this was a goal for a lot of players. For us players, it is like the fifth Grand Slam. So to qualify here is important. I like playing indoors and I will do my best."

Tsonga has compiled a 52-22 match record on the season, which includes lifting two ATP World Tour trophies at the Moselle Open in Metz (d. Ljubicic) and the Erste Bank Open in Vienna (d. del Potro). He was also a runner-up at the AEGON Championships at The Queen's Club (l. to Murray), the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam (l. to Soderling) and Paris last week.