Nadal led by a set and a break before the sixth-seeded Frenchman fought back to force the match into a deciding rubber.

Nadal broke again in the third set but still Tsonga did not give up, creating two break points before the Spaniard finally prevailed with a 6-2 5-7 6-4 victory.

Such a battle did not seem to be in the offing as Nadal raced through the first set, dominating the Tsonga second serve.

And when he went a break up in the second set, the match appeared to be all over.

But as he served for the match, Tsonga finally rallied as won five games in a row to take the second and go 1-0 up in the third.

The set went with serve until Nadal broke to go 5-4 up, but he was pushed hard by Tsonga in the final game before sealing the win with his third match point.