For the first time in six years, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Dudi Sela will cross paths on the professional tour. The last time they met was back in 2009 at the Australian Open and they will now go out and rekindle their rivalry at yet another Grand Slam tournament. Overall, Tsonga leads the head-to-head series 2-0 and will look to remain undefeated against Sela en route to the third round in Paris.

In his opening match at Roland Garros, Tsonga faced little difficulty and managed to advance to the second round of the tournament relatively unscathed. He defeated Swedish qualifier Christian Lindell in straight sets 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. He struck 35 winners, fired four aces and won 91% of his first service points as well.

“Today I played a good match,” said Tsonga. “I was really in the match. I was solid from the very first minute, and therefore I was more relaxed afterwards. Then things went on well after that. I was aggressive the way I had to be. I played well. I played a good match, and therefore, I didn’t have to stay too long on the court.

“The conditions are good for me here in Paris at Roland Garros. I will continue. Next round I will try and be serious from the very beginning, and I will play my best tennis, I will try, and at the end, we will see. We will see if this match will give me more confidence or not.”

The former semi-finalist at the French Open will next encounter Dudi Sela in the second round of the tournament, who reached that stage of the event following a straight sets win against Mikhail Kukushkin. The Israeli won the match 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-6(4).

This marks the third time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Tsonga leading the head-to-head series 2-0. The first win took place back in 2008, while the second came during the 2009 Australian Open. Both wins were on hard courts.