Tsonga set for return

 

Originally published on: 17/09/13 00:00

The French No.1 has not played since his second-round clash with Ernests Gulbis at Wimbledon when he succumbed to a knee injury while trailing the Latvian by two sets to one.

The 28 year old, who now sits less than 300 points ahead of compatriot Richard Gasquet in the rankings, is one of 11 Frenchmen in the main draw at the Moselle Open, which is a record high for the Masters 250 event in the Northeast of France. 

The top-seeded Tsonga captured the title in both 2011 and 2012 and he will be favourite to come away with the spoils once more with Gilles Simon, Andreas Seppi and Philipp Kohlschreiber rounding out the top four seeds.

Despite coming under considerable pressure at Roland Garros each year, the French Open semi-finalist enjoys playing in front of a home crowd, winning five of his ten titles on French soil.

It will be Tsonga’s first competitive outing without Australian coach Roger Rasheed in his corner after the pair went their separate ways at the end of August.

“The language barrier and the difficulties linked to our geographic locations are restraining our collaboration,” Tsonga told French media at the time.

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