WIMBLEDON 2011: Shock! Tsonga Beats Federer In 5 Sets!

Roger Federer had a career record of 178-0 after winning the first 2 sets in a grand slam tennis match. Against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga he won the first two sets 6-3 7-6(3) but then lost the next three sets 4-6 4-6 4-6 when Tsonga broke once in each set. Federer broke Tsonga in the first game of the match but then never had another breakpoint in the entire match.

For the second year in a row, the 16-time major champion fell in the quarterfinal round of Wimbledon, defying my predictions. Even though I predicted (and desired) a Federer win, I am not that surprised by Tsonga's win. He is an excellent grass-court player, has beaten Federer before despite doing 1-5 in the final set and Federer, to me, looked shaky in the 4th round aginst Youzhny. Still, I am shocked that Federer only had 1 break point in over 3 hours of play (which he converted) while Tsonga converted 3 of 9. Will Federer ever win another major? I believe he will, but now I think he will need some help from the other players going out early.

Interestingly, Novak Djokovic is actually 2-5 career head-to-head against Tsonga, despite beating him in the 2008 Australian Open final to win his first major. This will be an even more important match for Djokovic: if he wins the match, he becomes the World #1 ranked player.