Eleven years ago, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga arrived in Melbourne Park as the No. 38 player in the ATP Rankings. The year before, the Frenchman had been ousted in the first round. But Tsonga became the story of the Australian Open, defeating four Top 15 players to reach the final, which was his first at tour-level.

Tsonga defeated second seed Rafael Nadal in less than two hours in the semi-finals, and his high-energy brand of tennis, and of course his enthusiastic post-match celebrations, immediately became a fans’ favourite and fixture in the sport. While he lost that championship match to Novak Djokovic, a first-time Grand Slam winner, it was a moment Tsonga will never forget.

“It was great. The stadium was full. A lot of Serbians of course, but also a lot of French and a lot of Australians,” Tsonga remembered. “That was a good final, so I have good memories. Of course for me, it was disappointing to lose. But anyway, it was good memories.”

With that success, though, came expectations. Tsonga has claimed 16 ATP Tour titles in his career, won more than $21 million in prize money and climbed as high as No. 5 in the ATP Rankings. But his Cinderella run to the 2008 Australian Open final also made fans hungrier to see him take it a step further.

“When you come from nowhere, nobody expects you to play that good and everybody’s cheering for you. You’re new. And after that, everybody wants something for you that you want, but you know that it’s going to take time to be consistent at this level,” Tsonga said. “All the people say that and say, ‘Okay, now you’re the best or one of the best’ and you have to be the best all the time, which is not easy to deal with, of course.”

Last April, Tsonga underwent left knee surgery to repair an injury that kept him out for seven months. And when the Frenchman returned in September, he managed to win just one of his six matches, watching his ATP Ranking fall to No. 262, his lowest point in more than a decade. So inevitably, there were times when Tsonga pondered his future.

“It’s not very easy because you have to test your mind. You have to really know if you still want to play and make the effort to come back at the best level,” Tsonga said. “But at the same time it’s really good because when you are sure that you want to come back and make all the sacrifices to be at a good level, it means that you are really motivated and ready to compete again.”

Watch Tsonga Press Conference

So it’s almost fitting that Tsonga, who defeated Martin Klizan in straight sets on Tuesday, will play World No. 1 Djokovic in the second round at Melbourne Park. As he pushes back towards the top of the sport, it’s as if he’s back where he started 11 years ago.

“Today it’s like I’m back in 2007, 2008. People expect less from me,” Tsonga said. “It’s also something good for me. I work on my side and I try to come back and be better on court and I hope I will be able to do good things again.”

Djokovic dealt with his own injury in 2018, recovering from a right elbow procedure and a 6-6 start to his season to finish as the year-end No.1 in the ATP Rankings. So he could understand what Tsonga is going through.

“It’s funny. I mean, 11 years after our first Grand Slam final here, it feels like a lot has happened for both of us. He also struggled with injuries lately. It’s good to see him playing well. It’s good to see him back,” Djokovic said. “He’s another great player, champion, someone that has been very successful in the past — an established Top 10 player, who played a Grand Slam final. [He’s] just very powerful: [his] serve, forehand, big weapons… I’m going to approach it as any other match, to be honest. Really optimistic, but also respectful, trying to do whatever I can to win it.”

Tsonga knows that he still has to regain match rhythm and will continue to rebuild his body physically to return to his best form. But for now, as motivated as ever, this match against Djokovic will be an opportunity.

“I will go on court without pressure. But we always have a little pressure, because I’m competing and when I go on court I always want to win,” Tsonga said. “But I will go a little bit more free than when I play someone else.

“I will try to take my chance, and live in the moment.”

Six-time former champion Novak Djokovic extended his perfect record to 17-0 against qualifiers at major championships on Tuesday night as he began his Australian Open campaign with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over American Mitchell Kruger for a place in the second round.

World No. 1 Djokovic, who is hoping to capture his 15th Grand Slam championship crown and move ahead of Pete Sampras (14) in the all-time major singles title list, will now challenge France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 2008 finalist, who is returning from left knee surgery last year. Djokovic leads Tsonga 16-6 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

Earlier in the day, Tsonga lost just three of his first-service points (50/53) and struck 23 aces in a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(5) victory over Martin Klizan of Slovakia in two hours and 26 minutes.

Having lost his first service game in the third game, Djokovic immediately bounced back to dominate baseline rallies and push around Krueger, who was playing just his second major championship match (2018 US Open). Djokovic won five straight games from 3-3 in the first set to 2-0 in the second set, and went on to break for a 4-1 advantage.

Qualifier Krueger, 25, saved break points in his first two service games — including five in the third game — to keep his opponent at bay in the third set. From 1-2 down, Djokovic got fired up, varying his groundstroke speed and placement, often striking to the two-handed backhand of Krueger, to win five straight games. Krueger struck a forehand return into the net to end the encounter, which lasted two hours and three minutes.

The 31-year-old Djokovic is bidding to win a third consecutive Grand Slam title and become the first man in history to record three streaks of three or more consecutive major titles (three straight titles in 2011-12 and four straight in 2015-16.)

For two sets on Tuesday, Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak played the match of his life against Japan’s Kei Nishikori at the Australian Open. The 23-year-old was blasting winners from the corners, withstanding Nishikori’s aggressive style and, incredibly, the No. 176 player in the ATP Rankings was winning.

The Polish qualifier, in his Grand Slam debut, led the eighth seed 6-3, 7-6(6) and had fans inside Margaret Court Arena rooting for an upset.

But it turned quickly. He started cramping in his legs and in his hands. He stopped sprinting for balls and stopped winning games. Nishikori stayed focused, and, after nearly three hours, advanced 3-6, 6-7(6), 6-0, 6-2, 3-0 when Majchrzak retired.

The Brisbane International champion, who missed Melbourne last year because of a wrist injury, avoided his first opening-round exit at a Slam since the 2015 US Open (l. to Paire). Nishikori will next meet Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic, who dismissed Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-6(3), 7-6(5).

Italy’s Fabio Fognini advanced courtesy of another first-round retirement. Spain’s Jaume Munar, who reached the semi-finals of the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals, retired down 6-7(3), 6-7(7), 1-3.

Fognini, who won his first hard-court tour-level title last year in Los Cabos, hit 40 winners and saved eight of 10 break points against the 21-year-old Munar. Fognini will next play Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer, who beat Chile’s Nicolas Jarry 7-6(4), 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3.

For the first time since the 2002 Australian Open, recently retired Max Mirnyi is not competing in the doubles draw of a Grand Slam. A former No. 1 player in the ATP Doubles Rankings, the Belarusian played 84 of the past 86 doubles majors.

But Mirnyi is still keeping a close eye on the sport he played professionally for more than 20 years, and he is excited to watch what happens at the 2019 Australian Open. With that being said, Mirnyi does not want to make predictions, knowing how tough all the teams competing are.

“To comment and predict any tennis event is a very hard and unpredictable thing, and doubles is much moreso,” Mirnyi said.

However, ‘The Beast’ told ATPTour.com what to look out for in Melbourne during the fortnight.

The Bryan Brothers Are Back Together
“I’m happy to see that Bob and Mike are back together. They had a promising start in Auckland by taking out Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, I think that’s a good sign. I would recommend fans and the players be wary of what’s going on there. I think it’s great that Bob has come back this strong and is ready to play the big matches again.”

Marach/Pavic Defend Their Title
“Traditionally, the team that should be most motivated is the one that is defending the title and in this case, that’s Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic. They’re the No. 1 seeds and probably have a good chance to do what they did last year. You have on that particular team Marach, who is an older, more experienced player and Pavic, who has shown that he’s a good prospect with knowledge about the doubles game. He’s a hard worker, so I think that team has a lot of upwards momentum.”

Singles Players Teaming Up
“I’m very keen on seeing some teams that are made up of singles players. Normally at a tournament like a Grand Slam, they always have good motivation to start with, but also a good possibility to do good things. It’s a two-week event. Those that pick up good form and play a lot matches [in singles and doubles] normally catch the roll and keep going with the doubles as well.

“That was the case for me for many years. I felt when I was playing one match after another, it was easier to reproduce it on the doubles court. Also, there’s the fact that it allows you to focus on the doubles only when you’re eliminated from singles. Four years back, a team like Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini won the Australian Open.”

Mirnyi’s Doubles Teams Made Of Singles Players To Watch:
– Daniil Medvedev and Ilya Ivashka
– Nick Kyrgios and Matt Reid
– Leonardo Mayer and Joao Sousa
– Radu Albot and Malek Jaziri (2018 US Open semi-finalists)

Top Teams Sticking Together
Eight of the top 10 seeds in Melbourne played together last season. Marcelo Melo could not compete due to injury, so his usual partner, Lukasz Kubot, is playing with Horacio Zeballos. They are the seventh seeds. 

“I think it’s a good sign. The fact that teams are staying together just shows that there’s much more unity within those teams. There’s much more long-term thinking, and I think that’s great for the sport because when you see too many frequent changes, it normally indicates that teams are in a state of panic… an event like this at the beginning of the year shows players are committed, they probably have been preparing together in the off-season, and it lays out the outlook for the year, at least the first five, six months of the year.”

Colombian Duo, Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah, Seeks First Slam
“They got far last year, losing in the final. I think it’s due for them to win a Grand Slam title. They’ve been really persistent with the work that they’ve done. They’ve had a good friend of mine, a former doubles player, coaching them: Jeff Coetzee. He’s done a great job with them and I’m very keen to see them do well. Hopefully they can get a Slam title together.”

Mirnyi first came across Cabal in the final of Roland Garros in 2011, when the Belarusian won the title with Daniel Nestor. Mirnyi has been impressed by the Colombian ever since.

“He’s certainly been around and proved himself time and time again. They had success in Rome last year, a few other events they did well. Now that they’re one of the top seeds, they should do well.”

“Playing the Colombians is a little bit like playing the Bryan brothers. They’re beatable, a lot of guys beat them, but when it comes to the pressure situations, normally those teams that have worked through a lot together and know each other’s tendencies don’t have to speak to one another so much. That eliminates the miscommunication factor, which often is the case for teams that are fresh. A costly mistake of a miscommunication can be the deciding factor for winning or losing a match. Teams like Bryan/Bryan and Cabal/Farah that have played together for a long time, the opposition feels that you really have to play well to beat them, you have to beat them with what you’ve come out there to do, with your gameplan. Usually those teams are not going to make an error or miscommunication to hand you the win.”

Teams That Just Missed The Nitto ATP Finals Starting Strong
“Those are usually very hungry teams that have a lot to think about and if they’re staying together, there’s a good possibility for them to improve and a Grand Slam is a good opportunity for them to make that improvement. It’s key at the beginning of the year because if you put yourself in a good position in the ATP Doubles Race To London from the get-go, it gets a bit more respect for that team and it’s like a headstart almost in the Race.”

On two teams that finished No. 12 and No. 13 in the ATP Doubles Race To London in 2018, respectively: Ben McLachlan/Jan-Lennard Struff and Dominic Inglot/Franko Skugor…
“Struff and McLachlan just won a title, so that’s a sign that they’re in full force. Even though there was probably disappointment not qualifying for the [Nitto] ATP Finals last year, they’re strong and already grabbing a title this year. So definitely, those teams are the ones to look for and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those teams is maybe going to be in the Top 5 of the Race at the end of the Australian Open.”