Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is back in the winner's circle on the ATP Tour as he won his first-round match at the Open 13 Provence over Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
The Frenchman fired 19 aces in the first meeting between the two since 2012. Tsonga improves his head-to-head record against Lopez to 6-0.
Tsonga stages comeback for first match win since 2019
Lopez won a marathon opening game on his third break point when Tsonga netted a forehand. The Frenchman then had to save three more break points in another 12-point game to stay just one break behind.
The Spaniard then capped off the set with his second break after Tsonga missed on yet another forehand, but it was the Frenchman who gained the early advantage when he broke to open the second set.
Both men went largely untroubled on their serve until Tsonga had to save a break point in the eighth game to maintain his lead, which stood at 5-3. The Frenchman then struck an ace on set point to level the match at one set apiece.
The third set saw more excellent serving from both men as the set appeared to be headed to a tiebreaker, but Tsonga broke after some fine defense as Lopez missed a forehand for a 6-5 lead and he served out the match in the next game with a big serve.