You could have forgiven Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for feeling the nerves ahead of his match against local hope Alex de Minaur at the Brisbane International.
Coming off a seven-month tour absence following knee surgery, Tsonga could have been swallowed by the de Minaur hype train, which was hitting top gear ahead of the Australian Open.
It has been 11 years since Tsonga reached the final at Melbourne Park, only to go down to Novak Djokovic. On that night, Tsonga was 22 years old. De Minaur hasn't even turned 20 yet.
Tsonga needed all 11 years of experience, and some, to nullify a typically tenacious de Minaur, with the Frenchman winning the match 6-4 7-6 (7-2).
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After falling behind 0-2 in the first set, de Minaur worked overtime and broke straight back.
Tsonga's power then came to the fore as he served out the set in 42 minutes.
However, de Minaur emerged like a man possessed in the second, at one point busting a shoe as he chased, and chased, and chased.
And chased. And chased.
How many incredible shots in one rally 😳@alexdeminaur @tsonga7 👏#BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/zXeghPEfmz
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 4, 2019
Speaking after the match, the 33-year-old was pleased to battle past the teenager, but knew the Australian would keep coming at him.
"I played a great match. I expected something like this before the match because I saw him play a few times," Tsonga said.
"He’s a very good player. We have completely different games. It was good tennis.
"I’m just really happy with the way I played and I hope I will do better in the next round again."
Sportsmanship 💯 #BrisbaneTennis@tsonga7 @alexdeminaur @ATP_Tour pic.twitter.com/FpLhAT11Tn
— #BrisbaneTennis (@BrisbaneTennis) January 4, 2019
So gutsy was de Minaur, that fellow Aussie Nick Kyrgios couldn't keep his eyes away from the action.
Burnin rubber 🔥 https://t.co/uXzOXUAU5K
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) January 5, 2019
De Minaur's personal standards are rising to ridiculous levels, as is his ranking, which is set to rise to No.29 after Brisbane despite failing to replicate his 2018 semi-final appearance.
Ahead of next week's Sydney International, where de Minaur reached the final last year following his Brisbane breakout performance, the Sydneysider kept his expectations within reach.
Regardless, the young Aussie remained humble in defeat following the Tsonga match, handing some pairs of shoes to fans in the crowd, which gave him a standing ovation as he departed Pat Rafter Arena.
"I’m continuously learning and that’s something that’s never going to change for me,” de Minaur said.
"The expectations are always going to be there, it’s something I’m going to have to learn to live with.
"You put it in the back of your head and focus on what you enjoy, what your passion is and that’s playing tennis.
"Knowing I’m mentally and physically fresh, that’s when I’m playing my best."
Speaking after his win over Alexei Popyrin to open his Brisbane account, de Minaur opened up on the importance of opening the season on home turf.
"There's nothing better than coming back here. Us Aussie players are extremely proud and grateful to have such amazing fans," he said earlier in the week.
"We get to start the year at home, and a lot of players are not able to do this. We've just got to be able to make good use of it and leave it all out there."
Tsonga will take on Russian Daniil Medvedev on Saturday night for a spot in the Brisbane final, with Jeremy Chardy and Kei Nishikori to play for the other spot earlier in the day.
