Tsonga Survives Sock In Melbourne

No. 12 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga passed a stern test from No. 23 seed Jack Sock on Friday with flying colours, moving into the fourth round of the Australian Open in Melbourne with a 7-6(4), 5-7, 7-6(8), 6-3 win.

Neither player faced a break point in the opening set, but Tsonga jumped out to a 4/1 lead in the tie-break and grabbed the early advantage on his first set point chance. Both players traded service holds throughout the second set, but the Frenchman finally earned the first break of the match to lead 6-5. He comfortably held to love in the next game to take a commanding two-sets lead.

Very little separated Sock and Tsonga in the third set, ultimately forcing another tie-break. In an epic battle, Sock saved match points down 5/6 and 7/8 before converting on his second set point after Tsonga missed a forehand smash.

But while some players may have gotten rattled, Tsonga refocused by breaking Sock early in the fourth set and racing to a 3-0 lead. He maintained his slight advantage the rest of the way and eventually closed out the contest on his first try in three hours and 33 minutes. The 2008 Australian Open runner-up improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head against Sock to 3-0.

Next up for the No. 12 seed is the winner of the match between No. 27 seed Bernard Tomic and Daniel Evans. The Frenchman has never played Evans, but leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Tomic 3-0. Should Tsonga win his next match, it would be his first quarter-final appearance in Melbourne since 2013.