World No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is through to the second round after defeating Michael Llodra at the Australian Open.
Tsonga won in straight-sets in the Hisense Arena with a 6-4 7-5 6-2 victory in Melbourne.
The Frenchman, runner-up at the 2008 Australian Open, is in top form coming into the first grand slam of the year after going undefeated in Perth at the Hopman Cup, and he has continued his winning ways.
“I’m really happy with my tennis today. It’s never easy to play a guy like Michael because he’s very offensive. The points are very short and you really have to focus on every shot,” Tsonga said.
Tsonga didn't dominate play in his first round match, he simply outplayed Llodra when it mattered. Tsonga broke his opponent at 4-4 in the first set – which he eventually won 6-4 – and at 5-5 in the second which he won 7-5. The ability to break Llodra at the most opportune moment proved invaluable as Tsonga's own serving performance was stellar – the 27-year-old won 82 per cent of his points when landing his first serve.
After the match Tsonga said: “It’s difficult and a bit different to play but I think it’s tough to play the serve-and-volley game because of the quality of the returns."
Tonga's class was on full display at 1-1 in the third set – Tsonga up two sets to love at this point – after the seventh seed boldly stepped into a backhand from the baseline, whipping the ball crosscourt for a superb passing shot well out of Llodra's reach. The shot helped him set up another crucial break to which he took full advantage of, from there steamrolling Llodra to close out the match 6-2 in the third set.
Tsonga will play Go Soeda in the second round after the Japanese defeated Australian Luke Saville in four sets on Tuesday.
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