Sixth seed Nick Kyrgios enjoyed a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 first round win over Russian Mikhail Kukushkin in the Nice Open.
Kyrgios used his strong serve against Kukushkin to reach the second round.
The 20-year-old, who is among the outsiders at the French Open after making the final at the Estoril Open and beating Roger Federer in Madrid, lost only two points on his serve in the second set and converted three of his five break chances.
The 30th-ranked Australian will next face Dominic Thiem.
Fellow Australian, Bernard Tomic was forced to retire during his first-round match in Nice, affected by a virus.
Tomic pulled the pin after going down 6-2 in the first set to world number 269 Gianni Mina on Tuesday.
Source: AAP