Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has whipped up a storm at the Australian Open for suggesting that women tennis players are more "emotionally unstable" than their male counterparts.
The Frenchman was speaking after his thrilling 7-6 4-6 7-6 3-6 6-3 defeat to Roger Federer in the quarter-finals in Melbourne.
In recent years, men's tennis has been dominated by the 'big four' at the top of the rankings, which consists of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal.
Other players such as Tsonga, Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer and Juan Martin del Potro have also been regular fixtures in the top 10.
When asked why he thought that the women's game did not have a stable top 10, Tsonga replied: "You know, the girls, they are more unstable emotionally than us.
"I'm sure everybody will say it's true, even the girls."
His answer was greeted with laughter but when female journalists within the room disagreed, he questioned: "No? No, you don't think?
"I mean, it's just about hormones and all this stuff. We don't have all these bad things, so we are physically in good shape every time, and you are not. That's it."
David Ferrer is due to usurp Nadal's position in the 'big four' when the rankings are revised following the Australian Open.
