Tsonga's awesome tribute to 2008 Aus Open run
Fan favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga may have lost to Nick Kyrgios on Friday night but his family did produce an awesome nod to his history at the Australian Open.
The energetic Frenchman burst on to the scene as a 22-year-old with a surprise run to the 2008 final at Melbourne Park.
Unseeded in just his second Australian Open, Tsonga defeated No.9 seed Andy Murray, No.8 Richard Gasquet, No.14 Mikhail Youzhny and No.2 Rafael Nadal on his way to the final against No.3 seed Novak Djokovic.
Tsonga took the first set of the decider before losing to the first-time winner Djokovic in four, and the tournament remains his best grand slam performance.
So when he was handed a Friday night date with Kyrgios on Rod Laver Arena, the Tsonga family jumped on the chance to celebrate one of his best moments in tennis.
Enzo Tsonga -- a younger brother and former professional basketball player -- was in the box wearing the same Adidas design from Jo-Wilfried's 2008 Australian Open wardrobe.
It was just a small tribute to his brother's success, but it didn't go unnoticed by some fans:
Love how Tsonga's brother was wearing this shirt during his match vs Kyrgios yesterday.
Tsonga wore the shirt (probably not the exact same one 😂) during his run to the Australian Open Final in 2008! pic.twitter.com/0ET2Mf9BVf— Joe. (@ProdigyRep) January 19, 2018
i just realized that enzo tsonga is wearing the shirt jo wore during 2008 australian open final 😭💗
— keti ⚡️ (@garbaemuguruza) January 19, 2018
Love that guy in Tsonga’s team wearing the vintage 2008 shirt. #ausopen
— Jessica Ivers (@jivebong) January 19, 2018
Hey @AustralianOpen did you notice... Jo’s brother Enzo is wearing the same shirt @tsonga7 wore during the 2008 Aus Open when he made the final. Nice touch 👌🏻 Great match tonight, sad that someone has to lose this one #throwback #tenyearson #7Tennis #ausopen #Kyrgios #Tsonga
— Cathryn McDonald (@catmcdreamer) January 19, 2018
That guy in Tsonga's box is wearing the shirt Tsonga wore at AO '08. Cute
— Rachael (@rchlsmpsn) January 19, 2018
Although there was one problem with it.
It was another reminder of just how quickly time moves:
Brother Tsonga wearing the 2008 adidas shirt is not helping me deal with the fact that 2008 was a decade ago.
— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) January 19, 2018
Kyrgios had already served to highlight that, however, when he recalled being a 12-year-old fan trying to get Tsonga's signature at the 2008 Australian Open.
“I went to all his practice sessions with a new ball -- he signed it every day,” Kyrgios said.
“I don’t know if he remembers. I didn’t miss one of his practice sessions, obviously a guy I looked up to growing up."
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Tsonga was all class in defeat to Kyrgios, giving the Australian a wonderful hug at the net -- and maybe even some advice about getting to the final.
"For me personally I'm grateful," Tsonga said after the match of Kyrgios's memories of his childhood idol.
"It means that I touched some guys when they were young and they want to become a player like me. I inspire some of them and it's good, I'm grateful."