Video - When Tsonga Challenged Djokovic in the 2012 Beijing ATP 500 Final

In 2012, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, then the number 3 seed, managed to reach the final of the Beijing ATP 500 tournament. However, facing him was the mountain known as Novak Djokovic, who had already won this tournament twice before (2009 and 2010). The task seemed difficult for Tsonga, though he arrived with confidence after winning the Metz tournament just days earlier.

To make his way to the final, the 27-year-old Frenchman had defeated Istomin, Davydenko (who withdrew), Youzhny, and Lopez. But the level of competition rose significantly in this final against the Serbian, who had dominated Berrer, Berlocq, Melzer, and Florian Mayer.

The first set was balanced, but Tsonga started strong by breaking serve first. Unfortunately for him, this advantage did not last. After an hour of play, a tie-break decided the fate of the first set, and in this tie-break, as often happens, Djokovic had the final say (7-4).

Physically struggling in the second set, Tsonga could no longer keep up with the pace, despite winning the first game. In the end, Djokovic won in two sets (7-6, 6-2). This was the 13th meeting between the two players at the time, and Djokovic took the opportunity to extend his lead, bringing the head-to-head record to 8-5 against the Frenchman.

Djokovic would go on to lift the winner's trophy at the Beijing tournament for the next three years (2013, 2014, 2015), twice after defeating Nadal for the title, bringing his total number of victories in the Chinese capital to six. He has never lost a final in this tournament.

Tsonga would manage to defeat the Serbian champion two years later at the 2014 Toronto Masters 1000, during his remarkable run in Canada that earned him his second Masters 1000 title (having beaten Djokovic, Murray, Dimitrov, and Federer in the same tournament).