Jo Wilfried Tsonga ready for Brisbane: I have good memories here

French tennis star Jo Wilfried Tsonga is hoping for a positive start to the season at the Brisbane International. The 33-year-old is set to make his second appearance at the Brisbane event. Tsonga, who has plummeted to No.

256 in the world following his 2018-injury-marked-season, debuted in Brisbane exactly 10 years ago in 2009. Back then, the former world No. 5 made the quarter-final before losing to fellow compatriot Richard Gasquet. Tsonga easily won the opening set of their quarter-final match but Gasquet came back from a set down to clinch a 1-6 6-4 6-2 win.

Tsonga suffered a knee injury in February 2018 and didnt play until September as he took his time to recover from knee surgery. The Frenchman admits his main wish for this season is to stay healthy and be able to compete week in and week out.

I have good memories here (Brisbane). The challenge in coming back (from injury) is not to play your top level, but to do it consistently, Tsonga said, per the Brisbane International Twitter account.

Tsonga hasnt been handed an easy draw as he is due to face Australian rising star Thanasi Kokkinakis in the Brisbane first round. Kokkinakis, 22, already has two matches under his belt as he made it past the Brisbane qualifying to reach the main draw.

The winner of that match will meet No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal in the round-of-16. Also read: Jordan Thompson, Alexei Popyrin awarded Sydney International wildcards