Melbourne (AFP)

Forced to give up for back pain on Tuesday in the first round of the Australian Open, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga wondered about the rest of his career at almost 35 years old and when he returned to high level after a knee injury that earned him a white year 2018.

Q: What do you suffer from?

A: "I have ligaments that have calcified on my back. On one side, it created a bridge between my sacroiliac and my iliac. The right side of my back is fixed, but the most annoying thing is that my left side is fixing, which creates friction and therefore inflammation. It's complicated because it's more or less irreversible. The only thing we can do is calm the inflammation with an injection, which I did when I arrived in Melbourne. I have had aches and pains for at least a year. Until then, it was embarrassing but not very painful. Today it's really blows knives. "

Q: Does this injury jeopardize the rest of your season, or even your career?

A: "I think that we can consider everything. At first I see especially in the near future wondering what I can try to do to make it go better. After will it be better or no ... As long as the doctors give me hope, there will be a reflection. If they don't give me hope that it will be better, there will be a little less reflection. No barrier because I don't know how I'm going to go. I couldn't see myself going to the Paris Olympics in 2024 (laughs)! But I admit that my little personal goal this year is to participate in the Tokyo Olympics. "

Q: In what state of mind are you in relation to the possibility of an end of career?

A: "Mentally I still see myself playing for ten or twenty years. Anyway, whether I stop at 25, 30, 35 or 50 it will be sad. It will be hard no matter what because this sport is part of my life. I spent my whole life there so the pain will be difficult whether it is tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or a year from now. I don't want my body to decide for me. J "I always wanted to decide when. We will see, the future will tell. But I admit that today I am a little disillusioned with the situation."

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