Rotterdam Open: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga secures straight sets victory over Tallon Griekspoor to set up Daniil Medvedev clash

Rotterdam: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won a lengthy opening set and then accelerated past Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor for a quarter-final place at the Rotterdam Open on Thursday.[caption id="attachment_6088631" align="alignleft" width="380"] File image of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Reuters[/caption]The Frenchman's 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 victory was a match of two parts, with the labourious first set taking 53 minutes while the second lasted for just 23.Tsonga, the 2017 champion in Rotterdam, will keep up his bid for a second straight trophy after winning Montpellier at the weekend as he continues his comeback from a seven-month absence last season due to knee surgery and recovery.The 33-year-old also looks set for another ranking rise from number 140 as his comeback progress intensifies."At the start I played well, but he was solid also," 33-year-old Tsonga, now ranked at 140, said after seeing off the 211-ranked Dutchman."I took care of my serve and stuck to the game plan. I had my opportunities and he may have missed one or two balls more in the tiebreaker. I took my chances there," he added.Tsonga next faces fifth-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev who defeated Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco for the second time in three meetings, posting a 6-2, 7-5 win.Medvedev, a Rotterdam quarter-finalist on his 2018 debut, has carried the momentum he gained from his fourth career title last weekend in Sofia. The 23-year-old improved to 13-2 on the season.Bosnian Damir Dzumhur followed up on his second-round upset of third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, advancing past Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).Dzumhur will be playing his first quarter-final of the season when he takes on French crowd-pleaser Gael Monfils.