In an all-French first-round contest, fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga made a strong start to his Aegon Championships campaign as he defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 6-2 on a hot day at The Queen’s Club in London.

Tsonga, who this week returned to the Top 10 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, was largely untroubled in his first grass-court outing of the season. The right-hander advanced in 66 minutes, converting five of his 13 break points to avenge the defeat he suffered to Mannarino a few weeks ago on the clay in Monte-Carlo.

“For me it was really important to have a victory,” said Tsonga, who suffered the disappointment of a first-round loss at Roland Garros in his last tournament. “On clay it was difficult. So it’s good to be back and be able to play second round in Queen’s. I took some time off, and I practised a lot. I had the good sense to have a grass court at my house, so I just practised and prepare this grass season, which is a good surface for me. Hopefully I will be able to do something good.”

The 32-year-old Tsonga is making his sixth appearance at this ATP World Tour 500 tournament. He reached the final in 2011, finishing runner-up to Andy Murray. The Frenchman, also a former Wimbledon semi-finalist (2011-12), is looking for his first grass-court title this week.

Sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov also advanced for the loss of just four games, dismissing Ryan Harrison 6-3, 6-1 in 54 minutes. The Bulgarian improved to a 3-1 lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series as he lost only eight points on serve and broke Harrison four times.

The 26-year-old Dimitrov rebounded strongly from the opening-round exit he suffered last week in Stuttgart (l. to Janowicz). The right-hander won the title at The Queen’s Club in 2014 (d. Lopez), one of six ATP World Tour titles to his name. He is chasing his third title of the season this week, following victories in Brisbane (d. Nishikori) and Sofia (d. Goffin), which bookended a run to the Australian Open semi-finals (l. to Nadal). 

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10 THINGS TO WATCH AT QUEEN’S CLUB

Best Event: Players selected the Aegon Championships as the ATP World Tour 500 Tournament  of the Year in 2015 and 2016. The event received ATP World Tour 250 honors in 2013 and 2014.

Very Strong Field: Five of the Top 10 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings are in this week’s field: World No. 1 and five-time champion Andy Murray, Roland Garros runner-up Stan Wawrinka, 2016 finalist Milos Raonic, 2012 champion Marin Cilic and 2011 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Past Champs: Murray is the only five-time champion in event history (est. 1890). All past champs since 2009 are in the 2017 field, including Cilic, Sam Querrey (2010) and Grigor Dimitrov (2014).

Murray Returns: Murray is making his 12th tournament appearance, but first as World No. 1. He has topped the Emirates ATP Rankings for 33 weeks. Murray is 30-5 at the Aegon Championships with titles in each of the last four odd years (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015). Murray is on a 14-match win streak on grass and boasts a 125-26 record in Great Britain (.828). He is 526-156 elsewhere (.771).

Raonic In London: The No. 3 seed Raonic returns to London, where last year he lost to Murray in finals at the Aegon Championships and Wimbledon, and in the semi-finals of the Nitto ATP Finals. Raonic has played at 27 tournaments since his last title at Brisbane in January 2016 (d. Federer).

Wawrinka Seeks Grass Glory: None of Wawrinka’s 16 ATP World Tour titles, and only one of his 28 finals, have come on grass. The World No. 3 and Swiss No. 1 is making his fifth appearance at the Aegon Championships, where he enjoyed a run to the semi-finals in 2014 (l. to Dimitrov).

Dimitrov Back Again: The No. 6 seed Dimitrov makes his ninth straight trip to Queen’s Club. He started the 2017 season 16-1 with his first titles since the 2014 Aegon Championships at Brisbane and Sofia. But the Bulgarian is 5-9 over the last four months with no semi-final appearances.

#NextGenATP Stars: Wimbledon junior champion Denis Shapovalov, fellow teen qualifier Stefan Kozlov, and 21-year-olds Daniil Medvedev and Thanasi Kokkinakis are in the draw. Kokkinakis earned his first singles win in 21 months last week at ’s-Hertogenbosch before falling to Medvedev.

Wild Cards: Five Brits are in the field, including wild cards Cameron Norrie and James Ward. Norrie ended his junior season at Texas Christian University as the top-ranked player in college tennis. He makes his ATP World Tour debut against Querrey. Ward, a semi-finalist here in 2011, meets Julien Benneteau. Kokkinakis received the other wild card and opens against Raonic.

Doubles Depth: Seven of the 16 teams in the doubles draw have won a Grand Slam title, including two-time defending champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. The Frenchmen are seeded second behind Australian Open champions Henri Kontinen and John Peers. Five-time champions Bob and Mike Bryan have played 21 events since their last title at Rome in May 2016.

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN HALLE

Silver Anniversary: This is the 25th edition of the Gerry Weber Open and the 2017 field features seven of the Top 20 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings. The top four seeds are eight-time champion Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem, Kei Nishikori and 2016 finalist Alexander Zverev.

Former Champions: Federer has won the Halle title more than any other tournament during his storied career. He is joined in the field by three other past champions — all of whom are German: Tommy Haas (2009, 2012), Philipp Kohlschreiber (2011) and Florian Mayer (2016).

King of Grass: Federer, making his 15th Halle appearance, is the most successful grass-court player in the Open Era with 15 titles and a 152-24 record (.864). Last week at Stuttgart, he blew a match point against Haas and suffered his first opening-match loss on grass since 2002 Wimbledon. Federer is 54-6 at Halle and has never lost before the quarter-finals. He is one win shy of 1,100 and 37 aces shy of 10,000 (not including aces at Davis Cup, 2000 Olympics and 2004 Olympics). Ivo Karlovic and Goran Ivanisevic are the only men to eclipse 10,000 aces since 1991.

German Title Hopes: Alexander and Mischa Zverev, who each reached semi-finals last week, are among eight Germans in Halle. Haas is one of six Germans to win the Halle title, but the only one to do so twice, beating Novak Djokovic and Federer in the 2009 and 2012 finals respectively.

Haas Defying Age: Last week at Stuttgart, the 39-year-old Haas became the oldest quarter-finalist on tour since Jimmy Connors, 42, at 1995 Halle. As the World No. 302, he became the lowest- ranked player to defeat Federer since countryman Bjorn Phau at 1999 Washington (No. 407). Haas also joined Djokovic and Lleyton Hewitt as the only players with two grass-court wins over Federer.

Mayer Reigning Champion: Last year, a 192nd-ranked Mayer edged A. Zverev in the second all- German final in Gerry Weber Open history (Kohlschreiber d. Philipp Petzschner in 2011). Mayer returns this week as the World No. 134 after dropping the 500 points he earned at 2016 Halle.

Pouille vs Struff: No. 6 seed Lucas Pouille, one of five Frenchmen in the draw, meets Jan- Lennard Struff in the first round after saving a match point against him en route to the Stuttgart title. Henri Leconte is the only Halle champion from France, winning the inaugural title in 1993.

#NextGenATP Players: A. Zverev, Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev are #NextGenATP players competing at Halle. Zverev has won titles this season at Montpellier, Munich and Rome.

Wild Cards: Haas, Rublev and Dustin Brown are the wild cards. Brown reached the Halle quarter- finals in 2014 and Rublev, who is ranked a career-high No. 106, is making his main draw debut.

Doubles Draw: Two-time defending champions Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram are the No. 2 seeds behind Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo. Last week at ’s-Hertogenbosch, Kubot and Melo defeated Klaasen and Ram for their third title of 2017. The Zverevs will play doubles together. 

Felix Auger-Aliassime capped a historic run to the title at the Open Sopra Steria, claiming his maiden ATP Challenger Tour crown in Lyon, France. An unseeded wild card, the Canadian defeated Mathias Bourgue 6-4, 6-1 after one hour and 19 minutes in Sunday’s final.

At just 16 years and 10 months, Auger-Aliassime etched his name in the history books, becoming the seventh-youngest titlist in Challenger history. He is the youngest since 16-year-old Bernard Tomic prevailed in Melbourne, Australia, in 2009.

The singles champion at the US Open boys’ competition last year, Auger-Aliassime has focused exclusively on his professional aspirations in 2017. The decision has been a fruitful one, with the Canadian poised to break into the Top 250 of the Emirates ATP Rankings at No. 231. He is the youngest player to do so since Juan Martin del Potro in August 2005. Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet also made their Top 250 debuts as 16 year olds in 2002.

ATPWorldTour.com spoke to Auger-Aliassime after the victory:

Congratulations Felix on winning your first Challenger title. How does it feel to be standing with the trophy?
It feels great. After all the work this season, starting off on the Futures tour and then starting to play more and more Challengers, I was grateful to get the opportunity to have a wild card here in Lyon. I never expected to come back with the trophy, but I believed in myself and it paid off in the end.

You won three three-set matches entering the final. What was the key for you this week?
The mental part of my game. I was staying very solid mentally. It’s tough playing adults here. It’s very different from the juniors and Futures. The guys don’t give many free points, so I had to stay very solid physically and mentally. I was not playing my best tennis at the beginning of the week. Just staying in the matches and handling my serve was the key to playing some of the best tennis of my life.

You are one of the youngest players to ever win a Challenger title. Did you expect it to come this quickly in your career?
Nothing is written in advance, so I don’t expect it from myself. I just give everything I have and push myself to the limit. That’s what I did this week. I don’t give myself any limits. If I could win every match I play, that would be great, but you have to deal with all kinds of situations. That’s what I did this week.

16 & Under In The Top 250 (since 2000)

How inspiring was it to see your close friend and countryman Denis Shapovalov win the Drummondville Challenger title? Did that push you to win one too?
Yeah, it definitely pushed me. We’re both great friends. Obviously I was disappointed when I lost to him in the semi-finals, but when he won the title I was really happy for him. I think it really pushed me to get it this week. That was one of my main objectives for this year, to win a Challenger title.

You had a difficult draw this week. Talk about how your game has improved on clay.
I’ve been playing more and more on clay over the last few years. Having clay courts in our national centre in Montreal has helped develop my game. I played a lot of junior tournaments on clay and reached the final of the French Open last year. I’m getting more experience and I’m getting used to it. It paid off this week.

Your biggest win came in the quarter-finals against another teen in Casper Ruud. What did you do well to beat him in three sets?
I served well the whole match. I was dominating from the baseline and was able to put a lot of pressure on him. I put good trajectories and pace on the ball. It helped me to dominate him from the baseline and the mental side was important too. Even though I lost a tight second set that I should have won, I was able to fight back and stay in the moment.

This is your first year competing exclusively on the ATP Challenger Tour. What has the experience been like for you?
It’s been tough. Far from easy. It’s getting used to a different lifestyle and adapting myself to a higher level than the Futures or juniors. I spent five weeks in Asia recently and that was pretty hard. It’s always about getting used to the level and at the end of the day I’m just happy that I’m playing fully on the Challenger Tour.

What made you decide to turn away from juniors this year and focus solely on pro events?
After my win at the US Open juniors last year, we didn’t automatically make a decision. We decided when I won my first pro tournament, a Futures title, in November. I knew I had the level to play with these guys.

Have you given any thought to the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan? You will have a few chances to make it in the coming years.
It’s not my main objective this year, but I think it’s a good event. It’s motivating for the young players and if I can qualify it will be a bonus. Obviously I would love to play in the next few years.

What are your impressions on the tournament in Lyon?
It’s been great. I’ve been here since last week and everyone has been treating me perfectly. The staff, all the volunteers, the ball kids and everyone else involved in the tournament have been very nice. It’s a really great event.

If Roger Federer is looking for a little confidence pick-me-up early in his comeback, there’s no better place to be than the Gerry Weber Open in Halle. Federer has won this grass-court ATP World Tour 500 tennis tournament eight times, more than any other event.

“The history I have here, having come and played well so often, definitely should help me to play good tennis this week,” Federer said Sunday. “I love playing here. Yes, I think I can come in here with good confidence.”

Federer opens against World No. 68 Yen-Hsun Lu, against whom he has a 3-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head record, winning all seven sets they have played. Lu has a 28-34 tour-level record on grass and enjoyed his most memorable moment on the surface in 2010, when he stunned Andy Roddick 9-7 in the fifth set in the Wimbledon fourth round.

Federer will be a heavy favourite against Lu, but after his surprise defeat to former World No. 2 Tommy Haas in Stuttgart, the Swiss won’t take the match lightly. “It’s important for me, especially after the Stuttgart week, to come here and make sure I win my first-round match and get going. I want to take the right decisions on the tennis court. I don’t want to question myself too much. I’ll have the right focus and mindset, that point-by-point mentality. That was a little bit off in Stuttgart, understandably so. I have to learn from that week and move forward in a better way.”  

Federer won the tournament five consecutive years between 2003-07 and most recently in 2015. Last year he suffered a surprising semi-final loss to then World No. 38 Alexander Zverev, who one year later finds himself inside the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.  Federer has a potential second-round meeting with Zverev’s older brother, Mischa Zverev, whom he defeated 6-0, 6-0 five years ago in Halle. But Zverev is a far-improved player whose serve-and-volley game is well suited to grass. And the German on Monday will break into the Top 30 of the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time in his career.

Despite his opening-round defeat to Haas last week in Stuttgart, where Federer returned after a two-month sabbatical, the Swiss said that he had not second-guessed his decision to skip the entire clay swing after beginning the season 19-1, with titles at the Australian Open and the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 level in Indian Wells and Miami.

“It could have been better in Stuttgart, but then again I had match point,” Federer said. “It wasn’t like I lost 6-2, 6-2 and everything was terrible. A comeback is never simple, especially on grass where margins are so slim. It’s a serve or a passing shot or a return that determines the outcome of the match. That’s what it ended up being against Tommy, even though I felt I should have found a way home, having been a set and a break up.

“Considering how well I felt going into Paris, it was surprisingly easy to take the decision and after making it I never had any regrets watching it or following the results. I never thought ‘If only I was part of the tournament.’ I was looking ahead to the grass season and enjoyed the time with my friends and family at home.

“It was a decision that was taken within a couple of days. It wasn’t something I saw myself doing weeks and months ahead of the tournament. For a long time the schedule was to play Paris but all of a sudden I just felt that I wouldn’t be comfortable doing it. I didn’t want to compromise the goal of the grass-court season, Wimbledon, the US Open and beyond.

“I felt that the French Open may potentially have a negative effect on what’s to come. It may have been helpful, but I felt there was more risk that it would go the other way. Based on health, that’s why I decided to skip.

“But it’s not a trend that I might follow in the future. I don’t know what the future holds. This was just a one-off decision.”

When Federer began his break after Miami, he had a significant lead over Rafael Nadal in the Emirates ATP Race To London, which is an indictor of which player will finish the season year-end No. 1. But after his stunning clay-court season, when he won a 10^th title in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona and Roland Garros – in addition to winning Madrid – Nadal has opened a massive 2,870 point lead over his rival.

Nadal has withdrawn from The Aegon Championships to rest, giving Federer the opportunity to close the gap by 500 points should he win a ninth Halle title. The seven-time Wimbledon champion could pick up 2,000 points by winning the title at the All England Club.