PARIS (REUTERS) - France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reached his first claycourt final just ahead of the French Open by beating Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-2 3-6 6-1 at the Lyon Open on Friday (May 26).

Tsonga served 14 aces to reach the 26th final of his career - and his first on the red dirt, where he will face either Czech Tomas Berdych or top seed Milos Raonic of Canada.

Tsonga had gotten off to a poor start in the claycourt season, withdrawing from his second-round match at the Madrid Masters before skipping the Rome Masters with a shoulder injury.