By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday March 10, 2021

Roger Federer is not the only player that picked up a long awaited win on the ATP Tour this week, after a long hiatus due to injury. There was also Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the widely loved Frenchman, who claimed his first victory on the ATP Tour victory since 2019.



Now 35, the Frenchman talked of his struggles on Tuesday in Marseille after he defeated Feliciano Lopez, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

“I was touched,” Tsonga said of his victory. “Because it's been a long way to get there. I had (back) pain for months and months. I could no longer carry my son, run behind him, play sports ... No more, in fact. Today, I'm in Marseille, in a tournament that I particularly cherish, and I win. Winning my first match here is emotional for me. One of my goals was to win ONE game over the next few weeks. There it's done. The next goal is going to be to win a second one.”

That second win will have to wait a while as Tsonga was defeated on Wednesday by France’s Ugo Humbert, 6-3, 6-4.

After the match Tsonga reflected on his current situation, adding that he was thrilled to be back on tour, even if he knows the end of his career is not far off.

"Was tough for me to continue to play tennis, I had so much pain for so many months."@tsonga7 celebrates his first win since November 2019 at the @DavisCup.#Open13Provence pic.twitter.com/Stz8VsCwiF

— TENNIS (@Tennis) March 9, 2021