Mauresmo and Tsonga claw back to stay alive in Brisbane

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Amelie Mauresmo and her French compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga both fought back from the brink of defeat to reach the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International on Wednesday.

Mauresmo spent more than three hours on court, including 89 minutes for the deciding third set, before finally beating fellow Frenchwoman Julie Coin 5-7 6-2 7-6.

It was the longest match of her career and an exhausted Mauresmo said she could not believe how many chances she wasted.

"I really don't know what to say about this match," the former Australian Open champion told reporters.

"I'm just glad that I won it because it would have really been the 'missed-occasions match' if I didn't. That's the good and positive point for today.

"Other than that it's a lot of ups and downs and frustration because I was not able to make the difference when I was supposed to and I had so many break points and was not able to convert them."

Coin, who only made it into the main draw when Russian eighth seed Maria Kirilenko pulled out, was overawed the first time she played Mauresmo last year but adopted a more positive approach this time.

"Last time when I played her I was kind of nervous because it was her... when I was younger she was an idol," Coin said.

"This time I tried to take more risks and play my game. It almost worked out."