24 January,2009 12:50 PM IST | | AFP
French fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga survived a third set lapse to overcome Israeli qualifier Dudi Sela 6-4, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 and book his place in the Australian Open fourth round today.
Tsonga was cruising at two sets to love when he seemed to lose concentration and allowed Sela back in the match.
However, the 2008 runner-up quickly regrouped and overwhelmed the Israeli in the fourth set to win a highly entertaining match.
Tsonga made his breakthrough at the 2008 Australian Open, thrilling crowds with his athleticism and shot-making on his way to a memorable final against eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
But he suffered a knee inhury in May which required surgery and forced him out of the game for three months and caused him to miss both the French Open and Wimbledon.
He recovered in time for the US Open, where he made the third round, then went on to win the Paris Masters in November.
"I felt really good on the court today," he said. "I was happy to win -- we played a great match."
Tsonga now faces either American ninth seed James Blake or Russian 18th seed Igor Andreev in the fourth round.
"That is going to be a great match, they are both really good players so I know it will be difficult, but I'm ready," he said.
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