Jo-Wilfried Tsonga admitted to a bout of “first-night nerves” at the start of his opening-round clash with Edouard Roger-Vasselin earlier today before pulling through, 7-6 7-5 6-2.

An exuberant character, Tsonga is the kind of player who usually relishes performing in front of a packed stadium, but he admitted to feeling a little tense in front of a demanding crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier.

“I was a bit nervous,” he said. “I was not hitting through the ball enough on the important points. This is where I could have really done better. But I didn't go for my shots. But then during the match I felt better, especially after the first two sets, and I was more aggressive then. I hope that for my next match I’ll be able to do this from the beginning.”

Expectations are high for Tsonga this year after his brilliant run to the last four 12 months ago, which saw him stun Roger Federer in straight sets in the quarterfinals. However, it’s been a below par season so far for the Frenchman, and his ranking has slipped to No. 14 after early defeats in Madrid and Rome.

Tsonga told the media that he’s been struggling for confidence with his game for a little while now, which contributed to his uncertain start today.

“It’s the beginning of a Grand Slam, and of course it’s Roland Garros. I really want to do well. And I haven’t played particularly well recently. So that’s why I started badly. But it also got easier for me as after around 1hr 20min he felt that physically he was getting tired. He was looking for shorter rallies and he serve-volleyed a few times. I felt I’d managed to wear him down physically.”

Tsonga will now face the winner of the clash between David Goffin and Jurgen Melzer, which was postponed due to bad light at one set all. Goffin made the fourth round as a qualifier at Roland Garros a few years ago, and as a regular practice partner, Tsonga knows how dangerous he can be.

“I know he plays really well on clay,” he said. “He really emerged as a player here a couple of years ago. He won a few rounds and then played really well against Roger (Federer). He’s a dangerous player, so I’m just taking things one round at a time, but I’ve beaten him in the past and of course I think I can do so again.”

Follow David on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/dcwriter89