Tennis’s Ali causes rumble in Melbourne

The shock defeat of favourite Roger Federer in the Australian Open today has thrown the focus on the little-known Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who now takes on Novak Djokovic - Federer's Serbian conqueror - in Sunday's final. Tsonga (right) is the newly dubbed Muhammad Ali of tennis. "I want to float like a butterfly," he says, to which could be added, "And sting with my forehand," after his 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 drubbing of Rafael Nadal in the semi-final of the Australian Open. So who is this 6ft 2in Frenchman who has apparently come from nowhere – unless you're a dedicated tennis fan - to thrash the Spanish maestro in Melbourne yesterday, and who has elicited comparisons with the legendary boxer for his physical prowess?

The fact is, Tsonga, 22, has been around for some time, but until now his career has been dogged by injury. As a junior, he won the 2003 US Open (over Marcos Baghdatis) and finished the year ranked No 2. But in 2004 a run of injuries began with a herniated disc causing him to miss five months of action. "Everything I did hurt, even the smallest thing. I cried the day I asked the doctor if I'd be able to play again, and he said, 'It will be tough.'"

Just when he thought he was over that, he was hit by two right shoulder injuries and a nagging abdominal injury.

He first raised eyebrows in Melbourne with a four-set victory over ninth-seeded Andy Murray in the first round, in which he gave the Scot a lesson in serving. Tsonga's father, Didier, who moved from the Congo to France in the 1970s to play handball, says his son has inherited the strength for his amazing serve from him.

Novak Djokovic, the world number three, is nonetheless favourite to beat Tsonga on Sunday. A friend of Andy Murray from their days on the junior circuit, he was rumoured to be taking up British citizenship, after his mother held meetings with the Lawn Tennis Association in 2006.

One of the more charismatic figures of the men's tour, 'Djoker' had both Maria Sharapova and Robert de Niro in his player's box during the final in which he lost to Federer at the US Open last year. He is also a big YouTube hit - popular videos show him singing a karaoke version of Tina Turner's I Will Survive and impersonating other players' on-court body language. His best impressions include a preening Sharapova, a crotch-fiddling Nadal and American star Andy Roddick.