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World No. 11 Hubert Hurkacz offered some high words for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga following their clash in Rotterdam. Hurkacz, seeded at No. 4, didn't have an easy job against wildcard Tsonga but managed to get the job done in straight sets as he beat the Frenchman 6-4 7-6 (7).
Tsonga, a former world No. 5, was playing his second ATP event of the season. Tsonga didn't play any events in the rest of 2021 after Wimbledon as he kicked off his 2022 season in late-January at the Quimper Challenger. "Jo is an amazing player and competitor,” Hurkacz said in his on-court interview, per the ATP Tour website.
“He brought a really high level and it was a really tough match for me and he is definitely on the way back. Jo has achieved so much in his career and playing against him you can see why with his shots and his serve. I appreciated playing him and I am happy with the win today”.
Tsonga was inspired by Rafael Nadal's victory
After watching Nadal win a record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, Tsonga beat Kacper Zuk in the Montpellier first round to claim his first ATP win since 2021 March.
"I'm happy to be able to win, it means a lot to me, I haven't played much, only [ten] games in two years. Rafa's victory [at the 2022 Australian Open] was inspiring," Tsonga said after beating Zuk. Tsonga, now ranked at No.
247 in the world, wants to give one last shot to the game. "I won't hide from you that it is not simple. You have to accept to push back the limit, to accept the pain again. The objective is above all to see how long I will last.
It is not a great glory to pass the 1st round," Tsonga said. "For the weeks that I have left as a player, the objective is to progress little by little. It's going in the right direction so far."