In the first match of the day on Center Court at the Erste Bank Open, 2011 champion, and sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6(6), 6-2 to progress to the quarterfinals.
Up next for Tsonga is Albert Ramos-Vinolas. The Frenchman boasts a 100 percent record against the Spaniard, defeating him four times. The last victory came at the Master's event on the Madrid Clay earlier this year.
Tsonga fights from a break down to win the set via a tiebreak
Philipp Kohlschreiber came out flying. In just the third game, he gained a break point when Tsonga fired a forehand long. The German opted for the backhand shot which went wide and the game went to deuce. The Frenchman then hit the slice, came to the net and Kohlschreiber hit a sublime backhand passing shot to bring up a second break point. This time around he took his chances, attacking Tsonga and hitting an aggressive return to break.
The positive start continued as Kohlschreiber consolidated the break finishing off the game with an aggressive forehand to go 1-3 up. The next four games were relatively easy holds of serve. Throughout the set so far, the German wasn't allowing Tsonga to dictate the points and shutting the Frenchman out. But the Frenchman stayed in touch and with the score at 4-5, the 31-year-old brought the game to 30-all before unleashing a forehand to get his first break point to level at 5-5.
The Frenchman consolidated with a nice, quick hold to edge in front at 6-5. The 33-year-old then held his serve with comfort as he sent the match to a tiebreak. Kohlschreiber took a 2-4 lead in the breaker, playing some good all court tennis. However, Tsonga managed to find a way back into the breaker and leveled at 4-4. Kohlschreiber hit a forehand winner which gave him a set point.
The world number 15 played a forehand down the line, which was initially called out but following a challenge, the ball caught the line and Tsonga who looked unsure about the call won the point and leveled once more at 6-6. A good first serve from Tsonga gave him a set point. After a mini exchange, Kohlschreiber hit a volley into the net and lost the breaker and set 7-6 (6).
Tsonga down Kohlschreiber
At the start of the set, the world number 33 struggled on serve but managed to hold for 0-1. Still miffed about the call in the previous set on the tiebreaker, Kohlschreiber spoke to the umpire and used some foul language and a warning was dished out. From then on in, the match only went in one direction.
The German hit a forehand into the net which gave Tsonga a break point. Tsonga hit a mistimed slice and the chance was missed. However, the German hit a forehand followed by a backhand error to gift the second break to Tsonga. Coming under pressure, the German's coach looked concerned and with reason as Kohlschreiber went down a break after firing a forehand wide.
The Frenchman hit an ace to consolidate the break and go 3-1 up. Kohlschreiber came under more pressure in the very next game. The German sent a forehand long of the target as Tsonga gained a break point for a double-break advantage. Despite his serve going awol, Kohlschreiber managed to save the break point.
But Tsonga broke again as a forehand hit the top of the net and went long of the baseline for 4-1. Both players held their serve with ease. Following a mini exchange of shots, a backhand from Kohlschreiber hit the net to give Tsonga his first match point. At the first time of asking, Tsonga clinched the match finishing off with an ace.