Leading 5-2 in his opening set against Ernests Gulbis, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga went to the locker room with an apparent groin injury, and then returned to abruptly retire. He left the court visibly shaken and upset, as the home fans now have just one player left to root for on the men’s side, Richard Gasquet. Tsonga’s exit further breaks wide open the same portion of the draw that saw Rafael Nadal retire yesterday, sending Marcel Granollers into the round of 16. Granollers will now face Dominic Thiem, a winner today over Alexander Zverev, for a spot in the quarterfinals, with Gulbis slated to be opposite the David Goffin vs. Nicolas Almagro winner for the other quarterfinal spot.
Gulbis is a former RG semifinalist who now has a chance to return to that stage, while the veterans Granollers and Almagro are looking for late career success. The rising Thiem and Goffin would both love a maiden slam semifinal of their own. Without Nadal and now Tsonga, the draw has also opened up for tournament favorite and world #1 Novak Djokovic. Djokovic is now certain to face no elite opponents before the final. Though David Ferrer, and Tomas Berdych, along with Thiem could still test him.
All that is certain is that a dark horse name will have a great week ahead, and this tournament is Djokovic’s to lose given his current level of play and the players left in the draw.
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