Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won the inaugural Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon two years ago. And the former World No. 5 appears ready to push for a second title at this ATP 250 tournament this year.
Tsonga defeated fifth seed and recent Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters finalist Dusan Lajovic 7-6(4), 6-4 on Sunday to reach the second round, in which he will face Aussie Bernard Tomic or Canadian qualifier Steven Diez.
Tsonga played the big points well against the Serbian, saving three of the four break points he faced while converting two of his three chances to advance after one hour and 45 minutes. The Frenchman now leads Lajovic 3-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, winning eight of the nine sets they have played.
The 34-year-old has done well to bounce back from a left knee surgery that kept him out for seven months last year. At Montpellier in February, he captured his first ATP Tour title since Antwerp in 2017. At the time, Tsonga was a 210th-ranked wild card. But the 17-time ATP Tour champion is already up to No. 85 in the ATP Rankings.
Tsonga has long enjoyed success in his home country, lifting nine of his trophies in France. He is trying to win multiple titles at a French tournament for the third time (also Marseille, Metz).
Also advancing Sunday was Aussie John Millman, who defeated Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6-1, 6-3 in 67 minutes. Millman will try to make his first quarter-final since Acapulco when he plays fourth seed and #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round.
