French No. 1 should play when he wants - Tsonga

Published>Thu, May 27 10 12:27 AM

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga urged French Open organisers to extend him the same kind of courtesy granted to Britain's Andy Murray at Wimbledon after his preparations were upset by unexpectedly playing a day early.

Tsonga, seeded eighth in Paris, asked organisers if he could start his Roland Garros campaign either on Monday or Tuesday but his request was turned down and the burly right-hander made his bow on Sunday's low-key opening-day programme.

"We are in France. I'm French. I'm French number one. I would have thought it was legitimate for me to be listened to, that I would be given a choice. They should listen to me when I wanted to play or start," Tsonga told reporters after his 6-0 6-1 6-4 second-round win over compatriot Josselin Ouanna on Wesnesday.

"I had asked not to play on a Sunday because I had practised in such a way that I thought I wanted to play on a Monday or Tuesday, to be totally fit.

"But they imposed it on me. If you're world No. 80 and you're not that important in the hierarchy, if I can say, loads of things are imposed on you in this case.

"What really bothered me is that, you know, if you look at (Andy) Murray, if he decides on a day or hour at Wimbledon, nobody is going to impose anything on him."

Tournament director Gilbert Ysern told Reuters: "We take care of the players. We listen to them but it does not mean that we obey them.

"We cannot imagine to kick off the tournament without any top name or without one of the best French players.

"Richard (Gasquet) had just played in the Nice Open final while Jo had not played all week."

Fellow Frenchman Gasquet also had his request to play on Monday or Tuesday denied by organisers and played his first-round match against Briton Murray just two days after beating Fernando Verdasco in the Nice Open final.

Gasquet won the first two sets in dazzling fashion before running out of steam, bowing out after a five-set battle.

"24 hours (of recuperation), it's important. It would have made a difference but I knew I could play either on Monday or Tuesday," said Gasquet.

"I needed some luck. I did not get any."

That kind of bad luck would not strike Roger Federer or other top names in the sport, according to Tsonga.

"For Federer in his country it's the same," he said.

"In the U.S. I suppose it's the same thing for the best American players."

"I expected a bit more from the organisers."

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