Marin Cilic battles past Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach Monte Carlo Masters quarters

Marin Cilic has sealed a place in the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters by battling to a 6-3 7-6(5) victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

After a straightforward opener for Cilic, it was a tight affair between the two competitors as games went by the way of serve in the early stages of the second set.

The breakthrough eventually came for Cilic as he stormed through the sixth game to go a break up, which was enough to seal a one-set lead over his French opponent.

Despite taking the lead on the clay surface, Cilic struggled to overcome Tsonga's serve, with the first break-point opportunity coming in the seventh game, but the Croatian squandered the opportunity.

With both players failing to take advantage, the set was decided by a tie-break, which was eventually snatched by Cilic 7-5.