In light of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's retirement announcement, throwback to when he beat Djokovic, Murray & Federer to win Canada Masters

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga took to social media on Thursday to announce to the world that he will be hanging up his tennis racquet at the end of this year's Roland Garros, 18 years after turning professional.

The Frenchman will retire without a Slam to his name, his best result being a runner-up finish at the 2008 Australian Open. But Tsonga has been a constant thorn in the side of the Big 3 over the years, winning a total of 14 encounters against them. That number is second only to Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro.

His talent was on full display at the 2014 Rogers Cup, where he defeated two of the Big 3 and a further two top-10 players to win his second Masters 1000 title.

Seeded 13th in the tournament, the former World No. 5 defeated compatriots Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Jeremy Chardy in straight sets to reach the third round, where he took on Novak Djokovic.

The Serb was one of the favorites for the title and had won nine straight meetings against Tsonga heading into their clash. On this occasion, though, Djokovic succumbed to an uncharacteristic 6-2, 6-2 loss as he had no answer to the Frenchman's power.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga then took on eighth seed Andy Murray, then ranked World No. 9, in the quarterfinals. After Tsonga took the first set 7-6(5), the Brit took the second 6-4 to force a decider. The Frenchman held his nerve to eke out a 6-4 win and secure passage to the semifinals.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals to set up a title showdown with Roger Federer

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga disposed off Grigor Dimitrov to reach the final against Roger Federer

In the final four, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga squared off against seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov. Dimitrov came into the contest having lost all three previous matches against the Frenchman.

Dimitrov's fortunes did not change as he was bested 6-4, 6-3 by the Frenchman, who denied the Bulgarian a chance to win his first Masters 1000 title. Dimitrov would later go on to achieve the feat at the 2017 Cincinnati Masters, defeating Nick Kyrgios to win his only ATP 1000 event till date.

Tsonga, meanwhile, was joined in the summit clash by Roger Federer, who defeated Marin Cilic (third round) and David Ferrer (quarterfinals) to set up a 16th meeting with the Frenchman.

The Swiss, seeded second in the tournament, was the favorite to take home his third title in Canada and had a 11-4 lead in the head-to-head against Tsonga coming into the match.

It was the Frenchman, however, who came out on top on this occasion. After taking the first set 7-5 with a late break of serve, the 36-year-old prevailed 7-3 in the second-set tie-break.

In the process, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga became the first player to beat Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer in the same tournament since Rafael Nadal at the 2008 Hamburg Masters. It also marked the first time a player had beaten four top-10 opponents at a Masters 1000 event in more than a decade.

Reflecting on the title run in an interview with the ATP, the former World No. 5 said it felt "amazing" to put up a such fantastic displays back-to-back.

"That was amazing for me. All those guys have given me a hard time in my career. It was tough for me because I came along at the same time as them and they are among the best players in history," Tsonga said. "To be able to beat them in a row, at one tournament, was a good reward for me."

The 36-year-old opined that the match against Andy Murray was the hardest for him because of how intense it was. He admitted that he was surprised by how easily he vanquished Djokovic and declared he was proud to have played the "perfect" final against Federer.

"The win over Djokovic was a little strange because I won 6-2, 6-2. It’s never been like that with him. The win over Andy was the most difficult for me. It was a big match with a lot of intensity that was tight in the third," Tsonga said. "I was very proud to win that because he’s such a fighter. With Roger [Federer], I played the perfect final. It was amazing."

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