Jo-Wilfried Tsonga hadn’t yet lost to Roger Federer in their 2011 Wimbledon quarter-final, but it appeared inevitable after he dropped the first two sets. The Swiss had never lost from two sets up in his 255 career Grand Slam matches.

But on the back of what arguably remains Tsonga’s best display of serving, he did the unthinkable. Landing well over 70 per cent of his first serves and only offering Federer a single break point throughout their lengthy clash, he fought back to unseat the six-time Wimbledon champion 3-6, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

“I served unbelievably. I’m the kind of player who likes these big moments, so I hope I will have some more,” Tsonga said afterwards. I felt so good on the court. I was quick. I was just perfect today. It was feeling like a dream.”

The Frenchman’s runner-up showing at the 2008 Australian Open already proved that he could deliver his best tennis at the world’s biggest events. Inconsistency and injuries prevented him from building on that breakthrough run, but the 26-year-old remained a player that no one wanted to face. Tsonga’s attacking style is perfectly suited for grass and he felt emboldened by his decision that May to split with longtime coach Eric Winogradsky, opting for more ownership of his career.

After dropping his opening service game against Federer and trailing 0-3 after seven minutes, Tsonga settled in and found his range. But while the Frenchman continued to comfortably hold serve, he was unable to assert himself in their baseline rallies.

With little to lose after falling behind two sets, Tsonga charged the net whenever possible and attempted to hit winners from unlikely positions at the baseline. His bold gambles paid dividends as he cracked 63 winners to just 22 unforced errors on the day, with most of the winner tally coming in the final three sets.

After another strong serve on match point led to Federer hitting a return long, Tsonga dropped to the ground in celebration. Federer graciously tipped his hat to the Frenchman afterwards and acknowledged there was little he could do against an opponent playing so well.

“He believed in shots that maybe you don’t hit as often. But exactly when he needed them, he was able to pull them off,” Federer said. “When it got important, he went for it. It all worked out for him today.”

Although Tsonga fell in the semi-finals to Novak Djokovic, his inspired run at the All England Club spurred him on to an outstanding second half of 2011. He picked up a pair of titles in Metz and Vienna and finished runner-up at the Rolex Paris Masters to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, where he defeated Rafael Nadal en route to the championship match.

Federer would get his revenge that year, though. Although he fell to Tsonga again at the Coupe Rogers, the Swiss rebounded to defeat his rival four times in a two-month period. He dominated Tsonga in their US Open quarter-final clash, then scored another straight-sets victory in Paris before twice defeating the Frenchman at The O2, prevailing in round-robin play and an entertaining three-set final.

Alexander Zverev confirmed Wednesday that he has started a coaching trial with former World No. 3 David Ferrer.

“Some good news: I am going through a trial period with David Ferrer on my team. Could not be more excited to get to work,” Zverev wrote on his Instagram story. “Can’t wait for the Tour to be back.”

The German has previously worked with former World No. 1s Ivan Lendl and Juan Carlos Ferrero. Ferrer retired last season after losing against Zverev in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open.

“He’s the most respectful guy for me on Tour, and one of the most loved people on the Tour as well,” Zverev said at the time. “We’re going to miss him.” 

Ferrer became known as one of the hardest workers on the ATP Tour. The relentless baseliner’s final Top 10 win came last March, when he rallied to beat Zverev in three sets at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Many college tennis players dream of using their time as a student-athlete to propel themselves to ATP Tour success. The men’s team at the University of California, Berkeley, will have the chance to learn from a player who has done just that.

Rajeev Ram, No. 9 in the FedEx ATP Doubles Rankings, signed on as a volunteer assistant coach for their upcoming season. The current Australian Open doubles champion (w/Salisbury) is coming full circle after holding an identical role at the University of Illinois when he first turned pro. He played there for one semester in 2003, leading his squad to an NCAA team championship and winning the men’s doubles title with Brian Wilson.

Former ATP Tour players Wayne Ferreira and Robby Ginepri held similar positions while on Tour at the University of California, Berkeley, and Georgia Tech, respectively, but Ram is the first active Grand Slam champion to enter into the role. However, he made it clear that he has no plans to end his playing career and any coaching duties will revolve around his Tour schedule.

“With the NCAA rules, it’s very difficult to practise with the team unless you’re a member of it in some way,” Ram told ATPTour.com. “College coaching is something I’ve thought about after I’m done playing. I thought I could learn a bit about how it all works and [head coach] Peter Wright is a phenomenal person to learn from. I think I could be good at it and it’ll be a fun experience to figure out. It could help me in a lot of ways as much as it may help them.”

Although Ram’s time as a student-athlete was brief, he’s always viewed education as a priority. The 36-year-old graduated in 2018 from Indiana University East, a partner of the ATP that provides several options for players to complete their degrees online. Ram was the first player to enroll at the university through the partnership, earning a General Studies degree with a concentration in humanities and behavioral science.

“One of the requirements to be a head college coach is to have that degree, so that was a big motivation in case this ends up being something that I want to pursue,” Ram said. “I was able to finish my degree while I was still playing and enjoyed being able to focus on something else.”

The doubles expert is currently practising in Northern California, marking the first time in 13 years that he isn’t at Wimbledon due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But with action scheduled to resume at the Citi Open on 14 August, he’s remained in touch with partner Joe Salisbury (also a former college tennis player, at the University of Memphis) as they look to continue their momentum from the start of the season.

Having avoided significant injuries during his career, the current suspension of play is the longest that Ram has gone without competing since turning pro. He said the time away has given him renewed perspective about life on Tour and made him look forward to returning to cities that have become familiar stops for more than a decade.

“We always complain about how much we have to travel, so maybe those types of things won’t be as annoying. With everything going on not only with the pandemic, but all the other stuff that’s happened, especially in America, I’m hoping everyone can be more considerate and nicer to one another,” Ram said. “There are people at these tournaments every week who try their absolute best to make us have a good experience, so hopefully we can all be more appreciative of things like that.”

Andy Murray is used to having all eyes on him as he competes on the ATP Tour. But the former World No. 1 recently swapped roles for SPORTbible, analysing amateur tennis videos. It’s safe to say he didn’t expect a racquet to be flung over a fence.

Some strong contenders in this….??? https://t.co/yTeisSnemp

— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) July 7, 2020 

“I like that, taking the return nice and early. A bit of doubles here,” Murray said of one video, before abruptly bursting into laughter. One of the players missed a sitting volley on top of the net, and proceeded to chuck his racquet. “Okay, that is a proper helicopter out of the court there and I think well-deserved.”

One of the videos showed a young player competing on a small court, working her way to net to finish the point.

“I loved playing short tennis when I was younger. Nice volleys, good footwork. It’s pretty rare you see young kids playing up at the net,” Murray said. “That’s a nice volley to finish with. Love a bit of short tennis and nice to see the youngster up at the net there.”

There were two lefties featured, both players hitting trick shots. ATP Champions Tour star Mansour Bahrami is not a lefty, but the videos reminded Murray of him.

“If you’ve not watched any videos of him, I mean, he’s brilliant,” Murray said. “[He’s] so entertaining. Really, really good.”