Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has been working hard in the summer sun with new coach Roger Rasheed, with the Frenchman hoping that his Hopman Cup debut this weekend could help him to a fast start when the Australian Open begins in just over a fortnight.
Tsonga will play the eight-nation team event in Perth in a field which also includes world No. 1 rival Novak Djokovic. The easy-gaining Frenchman reached the Melbourne final in 2008, losing to Djokovic in by far his best Grand Slam performance.
The No. 8 would like nothing better than to go one step further in 2013 at Melbourne Park. “We are in a state of tennis where the field is extremely deep in terms of talent and winning against one, two or three of the guys in the top four in any given tournament is a challenge,” he told Australian media in Perth as he prepared for the Hopman Cup.
“Winning a Grand Slam is possible but I need to be on top of my game. Today I believe in my chances as I have proven that I could beat any of these great players at a major.”
Tsonga is hoping that the unique Hopman competition will kick-start his lethal game for the new season, “It is a good compromise between training and competition and, with my coach being in Australia, it even made more sense to be there. For now, there has been a lot of discussions with Roger about what we need to work on and plan.
©Daily Tennis News
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