French Open fifth seed and local hero Jo-Wilfried Tsonga survived a first-set thrashing on his way to a first-round win against Russia's Andrei Kuznetsov, the world No. 160.
Kuznetsov, the 2009 Wimbledon junior champion, took advantage of a sluggish start from Tsonga to take the first set 6-1, but was outplayed for the rest of the match after the Frenchman found his stride.
Tsonga eventually prevailed 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to knock out the 21-year-old Russian in their first-ever meeting.
German world No. 91 Cedrik-Marcel Stebe awaits Tsonga in the second round after his first round opponent Joao Souza retired while Stebe was leading 6-3, 2-0.
Earlier Sunday, world No. 9 Juan Martin del Potro sealed a 6-2, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1 win over Spain's Albert Montanes and will now face the French 82nd ranked Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the next round.
In the women's draw, former French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova sealed a straight-sets victory over Croatia's Mirjana Lucic, while Australian sixth seed Samantha Stosur crushed Britain's Elena Baltacha 6-4, 6-0.
