Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fought his way into the second round of the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon at the expense of American Kevin Kim.
The top-seeded Frenchman came through two difficult tie-breaks in his opening clash to claim a 7-6 (7/5) 7-6 (7/5) victory.
Third seed Ivan Ljubicic had a more straightforward passage, the Croatian beating Martin Vassallo Arguello 6-3 6-4.
Germany's Benjamin Becker, the seventh seed, also progressed with a 6-2 6-2 win over Paolo L! orenzi, with number eight seed Albert Montanes overcoming French veteran Fabrice Santoro 6-4 6-4.
Local favourites Marc Giquel, Arnaud Clement, David Guez and Michael Llodra advanced with straight-set victories, while South Africa's Kevin Anderson was another first-round winner.
