In first match since February, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga edged by Gojowczyk

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Playing his first match in more than seven months, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fell just short of a comeback win, losting to Peter Gojowczyk at the Moselle Open in Metz, France, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4.

At 4-all in the third set, Gojowczyk pounced, breaking for 5-4 and then holding serve one last time to seal the one-hour and 45-minute victory.

“It was a good moment for me to be back on court. It’s always a pleasure for me,” Tsonga told ATPWorldTour.com. “It’s not easy. It’s coming fast, and my body isn’t really ready to compete with those guys. But I’m here to be better, to continue to improve my game and try to reach my best.

“These last few months were difficult for me. I was not able to play, and I like the game.”

The pair’s only previous meeting was also a razor-thin victory for Gojowczyk—the German saved two match points to win a Davis Cup rubber against the Frenchman in 2014, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (8), 8-6.

Tsonga may not have won his comeback match, but just playing competitively is a victory all its own. His last tour match came on February 10, a semifinal in Montpellier against Lucas Pouille, where Tsonga retired while leading 6-1, 5-5 due to a left hamstring injury. Seven weeks later, on April 3, Tsonga underwent left knee surgery.

Tsonga was ranked No.19 in the world when he left the tour in February. Now, after missing seven months of the season that included three of the four Grand Slams and seven of the nine Masters 1000 events, the  former world No. 5, is at No. 71.

He may slip down the rankings further this week, as Tsonga has points from a quarterfinal run in St. Petersburg coming off next Monday, but after that he won’t have any more points coming off until late October.

If Tsonga is back and healthy, it wouldn’t be out of the question for him to make up some ground during the next few months. Tsonga has won 11 of his 16 career ATP World Tour titles on indoor hardcourts, including one of his two career Masters 1000 titles at Paris in 2008.