The Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga returns to the ATP tour in Metz. Since February 10th the world number 73 had to pause due to a knee injury.
Tsonga made his last appearance in the semi-finals of Montpellier. There he had to give up against his compatriot Lucas Pouille in the second set. Since then, the Frenchman has missed three Grand Slam tournaments, falling back to 73rd in the world rankings.
“I have no more pain,” said the 33-year-old in an interview with francebleu. “This week will be my last test. I have already completed many training sets and when all goes well, I will be back in competition mode.”
Tsonga will face German defending champion Peter Gojowczyck in the first round. He could then meet the top seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori.
That Tsonga will return to the tour in Metz of all places is no coincidence. The Australian Open finalist of 2008 has already won the tournament three times and feels particularly at home.
The French followers could already experience this solidarity with his homeland this weekend: Tsonga was there live to support his team-mates in the Davis Cup success against Spain. The final against Croatia should be a big goal for the charismatic Frenchman.
Before that Tsonga will also perform in front of the Austrian fans. Last year’s finalist will compete again at the 500cc tournament in Vienna.
For Tsonga, however, the first priority is to stay injury-free and slowly find the rhythm again. “The goal is to reach the level of the past ten years.”
Here is the tableau of the Moselle Open