Tsonga in frame for ASB Classic
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could make a surprise return to the ASB Classic.
The French tennis star pulled out of playing in next week’s tournament in Doha because of a wrist injury.
While it was significant enough for him to skip that event, he is still looking to play at the Australian Open later in January.
If the 32-year-old is looking for matches before the Australian Open, he has two options, to play in Auckland or Sydney.
Tsonga, ranked 15 in the world, hasn’t played in Sydney since 2009 and has only ever won one match there.
In his only appearance in Auckland, last year he made it to the semifinals and seemed to enjoy his time in the city.
There are still two wildcards available for the men’s Classic, which begins on January 8.
For tournament director Karl Budge, Tsonga joins the list which includes Andy Murray and Milos Raonic as players who could potentially come to Auckland, although given Tsonga’s circumstances he could be higher up that list, depending on the severity of his wrist injury.
‘‘There are a few people in that space at the moment,’’ Budge said.
‘‘It’s one of those years where there are more options than you can shake a stick at.
‘‘We’ve probably already got more than enough, but if you’ve got an opportunity to add another star into the mix, we’d be foolish not to give it everything we can.
‘‘I got a request from a player this morning that’s a great option for us, so there’s a lot to consider.’’
With Juan Martin del Potro, Jack Sock, Sam Querrey and John Isner already confirmed for the men’s Classic and tickets close to being sold out for the week, there’s not a lot of extra money to be made from bringing in another top player, but it does build a good relationship, that could be beneficial to the tournament down the line.
As well as two singles wildcards, Budge also has a couple doubles wildcards at his disposal, with Michael Venus, Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak all making the cut with their respective partners.
It’s possible these could be given to other New Zealand players, such as Finn Tearney and James Meredith, who won the New Zealand championships earlier this month.
Or he may give it to the country’s No 4 doubles player Rubin Statham.