Next weekend (23.-25.11.2018) the tennis nations France and Croatia will meet in the Davis Cup final. For the French, however, their superstar Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could be out again due to physical problems.
“Not again,” Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will think. After a season full of injuries, the 33-year-old seemed to be gaining momentum towards the end of the year. Will the next bad news follow for the audience favourite and his team?
Currently the teams from France and Croatia are preparing for the big showdown next weekend. The Davis Cup final between the defending champion and the challenger from Croatia has caused euphoria among everyone involved – only one message does not quite fit into the preparation of the team around captain Yannick Noah.
Superstar Tsonga had to finish training earlier on Tuesday and complained of pain in his back. After a short training session, Tsonga disappeared into the changing room, but came back after ten minutes and continued training. After a few serves, “Tsong” signaled that it wouldn’t go any further. Last year’s champion already missed a Davis Cup final in 2010 due to an injury.
For Captain Noah, the 33-year-old’s absence would be fatal. The ex-champion bets on Lucas Pouille and Tsonga in the singles. For the double Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert are planned. Jeremy Chardy is scheduled as a replacement.
Should Tsonga not be able to compete, Noah would most likely fall back on Chardy or Mahut, Herbert will most likely only be used in doubles.
For Croatia, Maril Cilic and Borna Coric are nominated for the individual games, Marach partner Mate Pavic and double specialist Ivan Dodig are likely to compete in the doubles.