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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga wins first round at Qatar open
French tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga AP Photo/Fabian Bimmer
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga laboured to a first-round victory at the Qatar Open on Tuesday, defeating wildcard Malek Jaziri in three sets in blustery conditions.
The third-seeded Frenchman triumphed 7-6 6-7 6-1 after struggling with his forehand on Doha’s centre court.
“I played a lot last year to come back into the top 10, it was really difficult for me,” Tsonga said in a courtside interview.
“I came into this tournament without very good preparation. However, I’m here and hopefully I will play good tennis.”
The first two sets went with serve as the players traded tiebreaks before Tsonga, ranked six in the world, took a 3-1 lead in the final set, winning the next two games to love as he wore down the bulky Jaziri.
