Australian Open
Tsonga stops Go in Melbourne
2013-01-17 07:36
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Gallo)
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Melbourne - Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga said he
was looking to play more aggressively after fending off Japan's Go
Soeda to make the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday.
The
2008 runner-up was made to toil hard in the heat for his 6-3, 7-6
(7/1), 6-3 win over 73rd-ranked Soeda in 2hr 3min on Margaret Court
Arena.
It was seventh-seeded Tsonga's second victory in straight
sets in the tournament and puts him in the last 32 where he will face an
unseeded opponent, Australian James Duckworth or Slovenia's Blaz
Kavcic.
However, Tsonga was far from happy with his performance despite taking his record to 3-0 against Soeda.
"Not
really, because I didn't play a good match," he said. "I did have a
good attitude and for the next match I will try to be a bit more
aggressive, try to play more than my game than what I did today.
"But anyway I'm happy to go through, I hope I will be better in the next one."
Tsonga
had trouble on the quick court in the stifling conditions but despite
being taken to a tiebreaker in the second set he largely had control of
the match.
"It was hot today and it wasn't easy because the ball was flying a lot because of the heat," he said.
Tsonga,
who hired Australian Roger Rasheed as his coach late last year, said he
was ready to take the next step at the Grand Slams.
"I've done some good results already, but I want to make the next step," he said.
"I'm
just working for that. I'm doing everything to achieve these things. My
only goal is to play well in the major tournaments."
Tsonga
began well in the opening set but encountered stiffer resistance in the
second set from Soeda, who broke the Frenchman's serve in the second
game before he gave up the break with a forced error in the ninth.
Tsonga was on song in the tiebreaker, ripping through with two mini-breaks before clinching it on the back of a 24-stroke rally.
It
was plain sailing in the final set for the Frenchman with a break in
the sixth game, and he finished the match with 17 aces and 44 winners.