Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, of France, returns a backhand to Italy's Fabio Fognini during their men's singles first round match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, Monday, May 13, 2019. (Ettore Ferrari/ANSA via AP)

LYON, France (AP) Former champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga rallied past Canadian qualifier Steven Diez on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals and extend his perfect record at the Lyon Open.

Tsonga, the 2017 champion, came within two points of losing but finally prevailed 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 on his sixth match point after 2 hours, 42 minutes.

The clay-court event serves as a warmup for the French Open, which starts Sunday in Paris.

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