Twelfth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has battled into the second round of the Australian Open thanks to victory over Thiago Monteiro in four sets.
The Frenchman, whose best finish here was a final appearance in 2008, was kept on court for close to two-and-a-half hours in Melbourne before securing a 6-1 6-3 6-7(5) 6-2 win.
Things started in a simple enough manner for Tsonga, who held his serve in the opening two sets and earned a couple of breaks to ease into a commanding lead.
Monteiro gave himself hope in a tight third set, though, as he forced a tie-break which swung his way after taking three points in a row.
Any hopes of a shock comeback were soon put to bed when the young Brazilian lost his first two service games of the final set, allowing Tsonga to cruise over the line in the end for a place in round two.
Daniel Lewis
