One of the top Frenchmen in the world will look to take part in the 2015 edition of the Grand Slam event featured in his home nation, as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga looks to gradually work his way back to form while performing on the level expected of him by the French crowds in the stands. He will begin his campaign against Christian Lindell, whom he has never faced previously on the professional tour.

Given that he only made his return to the professional tour from an arm injury at the Miami Masters this season, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has plodded his way through matches over the past few weeks. He reached the third round in Monte Carlo, lost immediately in Barcelona, reached the third round in Madrid before finalizing his pre-Roland Garros warm-up with a second round loss to David Goffin in Rome.

While only taking part in Challengers and Future tournaments, Christian Lindell managed to reach the semi-final stages of tournaments in Chile and Sao Paulo, which allowed him the necessary momentum to succeed in the qualifying rounds of the French Open. He defeated Aslan Karatsev, James Ward and Jan Hernych to secure his spot in the main draw of the tournament. He will now look to pick up the biggest win of his career in the form of an upset win against Tsonga.

This is set to be the first time that Tsonga and Lindell cross paths on the professional tour. Given that there is no paper trail between those two players, it is difficult to envision a finish that does not involve Tsonga’s trademark boxing jabs celebration. The Frenchman is vastly more experienced and is used to playing Grand Slam tournaments on a regular basis with relative success. While an upset could be possibly, it is highly unlikely at this stage of the tournament.