He started off his title defense the right way, with a straight-set win over a young, but talented opponent. Jo Wilfried Tsonga, 2014 Rogers Cup champion, took his first round matchup against 18-year-old Borna Coric in less than an hour and a half. One year ago Tsonga was the surprise of the tournament, storming through a long list of talented players to win the Canadian Open. He beat Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Grigor Dimitrov and Roger Federer for the title and 1000 ranking points. It will be tough task to repeat.

Coric is a talented young player. Currently ranked 36th in the world as a teenager, his profile rose greatly when he defeated Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors last October. Despite his big wins and obvious talent, Coric is also inexperienced, and his nerves showed in the match, which began on Monday as scheduled, but had to be completed on Tuesday due to rain.

The first set, which was suspended after the third game before being finished the next day, showed strong serving from the Frenchman. He won all but one point off his first serve, while laying down five aces and only one double fault. This impressive 93 percent of first serve points won was even better than his Croatian opponents's 77 percent. He also had the advantage in second serve points won, with 50 percent compared to his opponents 40 percent. Coric also had no aces and two double faults. Both players were perfect on break points—or terrible on breaks, depending on how you look at it—with all three break points being converted into breaks of serve. Tsonga had two of those breaks, while being broken once. 

The second set saw both players improve on the first serve returns, with the thirty-year-old Tsonga winning 74 percent of his first serve points, compared to 93 in the first set. Coric's percentage also dropped from 77 to 53. The world number 24 did lay down six aces, with his opponent adding his only ace of the match, to bring the ratio to 11-1. The Zagreb native managed to establish a lead early in the second set, taking advantage of his second break point opportunity of the match. He was not able to force a deciding set as was predicted however, with his French opponent leveling the set by breaking back in the sixth game. The youngster saved two break points in the set, but was broken for a second time while serving to stay in it, with Tsonga ahead one game at 5-4. 

Last year's champion will face 27-year-old Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round. The two players have never played before on the ATP World Tour. Defending his title is vital for the Frenchman, as his current number 24 ranking is already a seven-year low. Losing the 1000 points from last year's victory could potentially send Tsonga out of the 20, depending on how deep he goes into the tournament. Even a finals loss would cost him 400 points and could drop him to around 15th. 

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About the author
Laurel Moyse
Canadian hockey and tennis and equestrian nut.