Novak Djokovic faces a real test against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last eight of the Paris Masters.
Djokovic looked in trouble at times against Viktor Troicki on Thursday and after the first set, many thought the top seed would fall away but after nine straight losses to Djokovic, you wonder whether Troicki seriously believed he could win and Djokovic hit back to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Djokovic's shoulder is seriously bothering him and it's only going to get worse as the week goes on. Tsonga has been telling the press all week that this is one of the most important tournament's of the year for him and he really believes he can emulate his 2008 achievement and go all the way.
He's been a real bogeyman for Djokovic in the past and leads their head-to-head 5-4. They contested a real battle in the semis of Wimbledon earlier this year, Djokovic pulling through 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-7(9), 6-3 in the end.
“Jo is one of the home favourites and one of the crowd favourites,” Djokovic said. “He is a great player, has a very powerful serve, and he kind of performs [with] as much as energy he gets from the crowd.”
Tsonga admits that the challenge of facing Djokovic often brings out the best in him. "When I'm on that court, I have nothing to lose against him," he stated. "That way, I'm thinking when I go onto the court against him, he has more to lose than I do. So I always go to try to play my best tennis, and I'm sure it is the reason why every time I play against him I play my best tennis."
