Tsonga guns down Tommy

Tsonga: Safely through

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Number 10 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga booked his place in the last 16 of the Australian Open with a four-set triumph over Tommy Haas.

Frenchman Tsonga, a finalist Down Under in 2008, was given a stern test by Haas before prevailing 6-4 3-6 6-1 7-5 on the Hisense Arena court.

Trailing two sets to one, Haas, a three-time semi-finalist in Melbourne, looked certain to take the match into a fifth set when serving for the fourth at 5-2 ahead.

However, Tsonga was able to break back as he rattled off five successive games to end the match, which lasted two hours and 28 minutes, in sensational style.

Offensive

"I did a good job," Tsonga said. "I hope I will be better the next time again.

"It was very tough because Tommy is a very good player and very offensive," he said.

"He is difficult for me to play because he takes the ball early."

Tsonga's next opponent is 26th-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, the pair having never played each other before.

Almagro reached the Australian Open fourth round for the first time with a 6-4 6-3 6-4 win against Colombian Alejandro Falla.

Russian 20th seed Mikhail Youzhny was forced tp pull out of the tournament earlier on Saturday with a wrist injury.

He took the decision just hours before his third-round match against Lukasz Kubot on Saturday, handing the Pole a free passage into the last 16.

Pain

The Russian said he has been struggling with tendinitis in his right wrist since his marathon five-set match with Richard Gasquet in the opening round on Tuesday night.

Youzhny was unable to practise on Friday and after meeting with a doctor decided not to risk further long-term damage.

"I cannot play backhand at all. I can play a little bit of forehand, but there is still a little bit of pain," the 27-year-old said.

"I understand there is no chance to play well here. If I continue to play here I could miss a lot of time.

"I asked the doctors if it was possible to maybe take tablets. He said it was possible, but also maybe in future it would make it much worse."

Youzhny said he did not know how long he would remain on the sidelines.

The 27-year-old Kubot will now play third seed Novak Djokovic in his first appearance in a Grand Slam fourth round.