Top seeded Novak Djokovic will face his first main test in the 2019 Australian Open when he takes on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in their second round match on Thursday.
Watch & bet on Novak Djokovic v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga live with bet365 here* on Thursday, January 17. The Djokovic v Tsonga match will begin at 1 pm local time (3 am BST).
[the_ad id=’6730′]
*Geo-restrictions apply & pre-funded account needed
Novak Djokovic v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Head to Head
These two have played each other 22, having first met all the way back in 2008. The first of these meetings came in the final of the 2008 Australian Open where Djokovic needed four sets to clinch his first ever Grand Slam.
However, after that, Tsonga won four matches in a row against the Serb, and five of the next six encounters going into the 2010 season. Since then though, Tsonga’s only win over Djokovic has come in the Canadian Masters of 2014, with Djokovic leading the head to head 16-6.
Djokovic’s First Major Hurdle?
The world number one Djokovic kick-started his Australian Open campaign with an easy win over Mitchell Krueger. He beat his American qualifier opponent in straight sets, dropping just seven games in the process.
Bidding to win his seventh Australian Open and 15th Grand Slam trophy, Djokovic dropped an early service game to come back strongly and win the set with ease. He had no such trouble in the remaining match, completing a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Krueger.
The match lasted two hours three minutes and Djokovic admitted it had been a tough match for him.
He said:
“He was very competitive and I had to work hard. I enjoyed it, hope you did too.”
Interestingly, Djokovic had earlier lost in the semi-final of the Qatar Open in his tune-up to this Australian Open, going down to Roberto Agut Bautista. He surely looked to have shrugged that defeat off.
Tsonga’s Fighting Spirit
Since getting knocked out in the third round at the previous Australian Open, Tsonga’s not played a single Grand Slam because of injury issues. Incidentally, his second round win over Denis Shapovalov was an indicator of his immense fighting spirit as he came back from being 5-2 down in the final set to complete a win.
The rest of the year went empty for Tsonga, as he withdrew from the Davis Cup squad because of injury before another withdrawal occurred at Open de Sud and by the start of June his ranking had fallen to outside the top 50 for the first time since 2007.
However, that hasn’t deterred him and he has clawed back, made a comeback and finished a semifinalist at the Brisbane International.
At the Australian Open, he won his first round match against Martin Klizan in straight sets. He triumphed 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 to clinch this match-up against Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – Who Will Win?
Djokovic might have felt threatened by Tsonga at some point in his career, but this should be a cakewalk, what with Djokovic winning in three sets. Yep, we don’t think, Tsonga will quite be Djokovic’s first real challenge this tournament.
You can watch & bet on Djokovic v Tsonga live with bet365 here* on Thursday, January 17.
Be the first to comment