It's amazing how a harmless looking and cheap fruit that so many people tell you is good for you can be so expensive!
Well in the case of Tsonga at this years Australian Open, this yellow peril could well have cost him $$$millions!
The reality is that the Australian Open dream for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is at an end but did we really expect him to win?
We were all (including me) excited and in awe of his destruction of Nadal in the semi final where we all uttered words we never thought we would about the Spaniard - Overpowered, Slow, One-dimensional!! Maybe the over the top (but deserved) press coverage following the match had pushed Tsonga over the finish line and into the winners circle in our minds!
What many people forgot was that the final was another day, against another opponent and on a stage that Tsonga had never been to - a Grand Slam Final! So what happened, why did he not win?
Well the bottom line is that Djokovic is a great player and does present a different set of problems than Nadal.
He serves better and bigger and his groundstrokes are harder and flatter and ultimately more attacking. Even those differences were enough to turn Tsonga into the defender in the points more often than in the Nadal match, where apart from the fact he was obviously in "THE ZONE" he was more often than not the aggressor.
Having said that is there anything he could have done - well maybe yes!!
Having taken the first set with a piece of inspiration, he found himself 2 sets to 1 down and looking tired in the fourth (don't forget he had never played a 5 set match before).
Then suddenly, Djokovic starts to grab his legs and looks in agony - he even failed to move to several shots and others (especially his forehand) failed to get over the net because he was unable to push off into the shot. Was this now Tsongas title?
Well Djokovic well within his rights, called for the trainer and took a medical time out and Tsonga sat down waiting.
Big Mistake!
Although many view the calling of trainers, gamesmanship and in some cases cheating, they are allowed and if used right are tactically as important as deciding to go cross court or down the line.
For Djokovic, he had time to get his legs massaged as well as the opportunity to eat a bar (minimal digestion time) and take on some hydration.
Especially because he was looking weary himself, Tsonga should have done exactly the same thing and USED THE RULES!
BIGGER MISTAKE!
Apart from not taking the timeout, what did I see him do - have a drink and a BANANA!
I can't tell you how frustrating it is to see players eating bananas!
BANANAS ARE NOT INSTANT SOURCES OF ENERGY!
They take hours to digest and just divert blood to the digestive system instead of to the muscles and brain where you need them most!
So the injury time out obviously helped Djokovic and without question hindered Tsonga who on the face of it did nothing different in the last few games whereas Djokovic certainly kicked on a bit which was enough to see him sprint over the finish line to his first Grand Slam!
How a Professional tennis player in a Grand Slam Final was allowed to eat a banana at such a crucial stage of the match is staggering and whilst it may not have meant Tsonga would have won the match (even if he won the 4th set) it certainly would not have helped matters.
Another case of how the small details can add up to major factors!
How will you look at the bananas the next time you are in the Supermarket?
