Paris (AFP)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 35th in the world, qualified Thursday for the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters 1000 by beating Jan-Lennard Struff (36) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) after having saved two match points in the tie-break.
Tsonga had not reached the quarterfinals of a Masters 1000 since Paris in 2016. He will play Friday against Rafael Nadal (2nd) or Stan Wawrinka (16th), who face Thursday night for a place in half.
The German was faster to get into action and quickly led 4-1 in the first set.
Not very effective on the fly (1/6), dropped by his service (2 aces against 5 for Struff), Tsonga was completely dominated by the stake of Struff: he scored only two points on the commitment of his opponent throughout the first run.
But in the second set, the 34-year-old Frenchman found his first ball and with confidence. He made the break to lead 2-1 and maintained his lead until the end of the inning.
In the deciding set, the forces again balanced and the two players reached the tie-break.
The German then got two match points to lead 6-4, saved by Tsonga who chained four straight points, including a Struff smash in the bottom of the net at 6-6.
Tsonga, winner of the 2008 edition, will play his sixth quarter-final at Bercy.
© 2019 AFP