Tsonga reaches Brisbane International quarters

Brisbane (Australia), Jan 3 (IANS) France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Taro Daniel of Japan 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in the second round of the Brisbane International tennis tournament here on Thursday.It took the 33-year-old Frenchman an hour and 40 minutes to qualify for the tournament's quarter-finals and keep his hopes of a first Brisbane title alive, reports Efe."It is an honour to play in front of this crowd. I am very happy to win a second match here and I hope it is going to continue," Tsonga said, according to the tournament's official website.The former world No. 5 next will take on Australia's Alex de Minaur, who emerged victorious 6-4, 6-2 over his compatriot Jordan Thompson on Wednesday."I am going to give my best as always. There is a new generation coming, it is normal," Tsonga said ahead of facing 19-year-old de Minaur."He is a very good player. I like the mentality he has got. He is a fighter. He is into every point. I will just try and do my job and play my game. It is going to be nice for the crowd to see how it goes," he concluded.
--IANS ajb/sed