Jo-Wilfried Tsonga says he will leave Melbourne Park a very proud 22-year-old despite losing the Australian Open men's singles final in four sets against Novak Djokovic on Sunday night.
Having announced himself to the tennis world when he gave Andy Roddick a fright in the opening round of the tournament 12 months ago, Tsonga went on a giant-killing run this year.
The man who has become known as 'Ali' because of his likeness to the American boxing legend, opened up with a stunning win over No.9 seed Andy Murray and took out three more seeds in Richard Gasquet (No.8), Mikhail Youzhny (No.14) and Rafael Nadal (No.2) along the way to the decider
And while he was obviously disappointed to fall one victory short of claiming the ultimate glory, Tsonga will depart a happy man, especially having had his parents in the stands to watch his match against Djokovic.
"I'm very proud of myself," Tsonga said. "I'm happy for Novak, because he played unbelievable today. I don't know if I have to be sad or happy of this final, but I feel great."
Tsonga's fairytale may not have had the happy ending he wanted but having enjoyed amazing crowd support throughout the fortnight because of his personality and superb shot-making, he spoke of his appreciation for the fans' reaction.
"It's just unbelievable because the crowd was unbelievable," he said. "A lot of noise and everything. I had frisson (goosebumps). It was crazy."
Having played just 40 ATP Tour matches in his fledgling career before taking to Rod Laver Arena, the 22-year-old's inexperience when compared to that of 20-year-old Djokovic - who had played 178 matches coming in - was a factor.
Tsonga overcame the loss of his serve in the first game of the match to break twice and take the opening set, with the centre-court crowd erupting when he sealed it with a forehand winner and then a lob over a stranded Djokovic.
As the match wore on though it was Djokovic who began to stamp his authority on the contest, with one break in the second set and two in the third putting him ahead before he ran away with the contest in the fourth-set tie-breaker.
But Tsonga, who started the event ranked No.38 in the world, will leap up to No.18 with his results, and if he can stay healthy with his confidence now soaring he could yet join Djokovic as a challenger to Roger Federer's throne.
"Yeah, of course, (he can become a top-10 player)," Tsonga said. "Not everybody can beat players who I beat. So I know Richard (Gasquet) or (Mikhail) Youzhny or Rafael (Nadal), they are very good players. And I beat them, it's very difficult, and I did it. Of course, I'm confident now."
