Down 5-2 in the fifth set, Tsonga rallied to get revenge on Shapovalov

MELBOURNE—Jo-Wilfried Tsonga saved his best for last—really, really last. On Wednesday against Denis Shapovalov, the world No. 15 relied on fight and experience to claw his way into the third round, 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5.

The 18-year-old Canadian embraced the occasion for 95 percent of the three-hour and 37-minute match. In a rematch of his stunning US Open upset over Tsonga, Shapovalov almost made magic happen again, but the 2008 Australian Open finalist broke his heart with a late surge.

“I just continue to fight because ever since I’m playing tennis here I [have a] really good time here,” Tsonga told the Margaret Court Arena crowd. “It’s always a big moment for me to play on these courts. I continue to enjoy it and hope it going to continue this week and why not longer.”

For most of the day, it didn’t look like Tsonga would be around for very long at all. Tsonga started out slow and flat, a perfect storm of disaster as Shapovalov flew out of the gates with guns blazing. The Frenchman settled in, clearly not wanting a repeat of his straight-set loss in New York.

"For me, I think it was an advantage to play him for the second time because I knew he was able to do things, crazy things like he did today," Tsonga said.

The match was truly in the teen’s hands. Everyone knows Shapovalov has blistering groundstrokes backed up by a fiery spirit and lack of fear, but he’s also carrying newfound maturity and a touch of experience, thanks to his fourth-round run at the US Open.

The world No. 50 immediately stepped up in the third set with an early break capped off with a stunning backhand down-the-line. He’d pull off the same early break in the fifth set after Tsonga took charge of the fourth-set tiebreaker. It’s like the youngster had already perfected short-term memory loss, moving on quickly and purposefully.

Shapovalov had to pass just one final test, serving for the match at 5-3. Instead, Tsonga the fighter emerged from the shadows, taking advantage of Shapovalov’s inexperience (it was his Australian Open debut) to get the break and grab the momentum.

"As much as the loss hurts, I don't find it as a loss," Shapovalov said. "I find it as an opportunity to learn. I'm the type of guy when things don't go my way, instead of sulking or getting mad, down on myself, I go back on the court and try to work twice as hard so next time when I'm in that position I can hit some good serves and just close the match out."

It was all Tsonga from there, even pulling off an accidental tweener at 5-5 and winning the point, before serving out the match with a dominant final game.

"The most important for me, it's to fight, give my best on court until the last point," Tsonga said. "That's what I did today. I think he deserved to win also today, but I was also courageous and I did my job at the end. I think I deserve it, too."

Read Joel Drucker and Nina Pantic on TENNIS.com as they report from the Australian Open, and watch them each day on The Daily Mix:

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