Home hope Tsonga labours to five-set win in Paris

Paris: Local favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga laboured past unheralded German Daniel Brands to reach the second round of the French Open with a marathon 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5 win on Sunday.

Timely drop shots were enough for Brands to unsettle Tsonga early in the match as the eighth-seeded Frenchman dropped the first set before gradually finding his stride to set up a meeting with compatriot Josselin Ouanna. It was no stroll in the park for Tsonga with Brands benefiting from a string of unforced errors to level by taking the fourth set tiebreak 7-2. The German saved a match point in the 10th game of the decider, another in the 12th before bowing out when he sent a backhand long after a three-hour and 43-minute battle.Bureau Report