Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
In January 2008, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga convincingly beat Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-3 6-2 to reach the final of the Australian Open.
Tsonga's other scalps in the Australian Open had already included Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet and Mikhail Youzhny.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga became the first player to reach his first ATP-level final in a Grand Slam since Gustavo Kuerten in 1997.
However, Tsonga lost the final of the Australian Open to Novak Djokovic 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7-2).
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was born on 17 April 1985 in Le Mans, France, the son of a Congolese international handball player.
In his younger days Tsonga practised intensively with Gael Monfils.
The right-handed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ended 2003 as the No. 2 junior in the world.
He became a tennis professional in 2004 but was dogged by injuries to his back, shoulder and knee.
In 2004, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga recorded the third fastest serve on the ATP circuit that year (144 mph).
The BBC commented back in June 2007 after Tsonga's improved performance at Queen's, where he beat Lleyton Hewitt:
"Maybe Roger Federer should watch his back, with fighting talk like that Tsonga could just be on his way to becoming 'The Champ' on grass."
APT Tennis has an extensive account of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's career highlights.