Three-time champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fought back to beat Feliciano Lopez on Tuesday in Marseille to win his first ATP Tour victory since 2019.
Tsonga, 35, managed to secure a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Lopez after coming back from a set down.
“This is probably one of the best victories of my career, because it was tough for me to play tennis. I had so much pain for so many months,” Tsonga said in an interview.
“Today, I won one match. That was one of my goals for these few weeks… I’m happy like a kid.”
Tsonga will next face countryman Ugo Humbert in the next round.
Pierre-Hugues Herbert also managed to claim victory over sixth-seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-4.
“I knew I would need to be aggressive from the start, as I knew Kei would be better than me from the baseline,” said Herbert.
“I cannot complain about anything today and I stuck to my game plan from the beginning to the end. I am very happy with the win. I kept moving forwards and did let him play.”
Herbert will next face one of Britain’s Cameron Norrie or France’s Constant Lestienne.
Meanwhile Australia’s Matthew Ebden and America’s Mackenzie McDonald will also feature in the next round after beating Benjamin Bonzi and Karen Khachanov respectively.
Ebden is due to face Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland, while McDonald will do battle with Italy’s Stefano Travaglia.