Wimbledon: Tsonga takes long route to last 16, beats Isner 19-17 in 5th set

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga took the long way around in entering the Wimbledon last 16 on Sunday, downing US marathon man John Isner 6-7 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 19-17.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga took the long way around in entering the Wimbledon last 16 on Sunday, downing US marathon man John Isner 6-7 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 19-17.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga celebrates his win over John Isner. (AFP)

French 12th seed Tsonga, a semi-finalist in 2011 and 2012, saved a match point in the 32nd game of the final set.

The last set alone lasted more than two hours.

Tsonga shakes hands with Isner at the net after the match. (AP)

Isner, the 18th seed, famously won the longest tennis match ever played when he beat another Frenchman, Nicolas Mahut, 70-68 in the final set at Wimbledon in the first round in 2010.

The five-setter, stretched over three days, lasted 11 hours and five minutes.

Isner had led Tsonga by two sets to one when play was halted at sunset on Saturday.

The American ended the four-hour, 25-minute tie with 38 aces, 101 winners and 53 unforced errors.

Tsonga, who goes on to face fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet for a place in the quarter-finals, hit 21 aces and 88 winners but made just 20 unforced errors.