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• Cameron Norrie comes through five-set battle with home favourite Benoit Paire

  Cameron Norrie survived a five-set battle with Frenchman Benoit Paire and the lively Roland Garros crowd to keep British hopes in the singles alive.

  There looked set to be a British wipe-out for the second time in four editions in Paris when Norrie trailed 4-2 in the deciding set on Suzanne Lenglen after Jack Draper was forced to retire injured.

  But 14th seed Norrie showed his battling qualities again to pull off a 7-5 4-6 3-6 6-1 6-4 victory after three hours and 33 minutes.

  And he can expect more of the same in the second round when he takes on a resurgent Lucas Pouille, who has been the toast of Roland Garros this week after coming through qualifying following injury and personal problems.

  “It was an amazing match,” said Norrie. “All credit to Benoit. He played really well. He made it really difficult. Great atmosphere, thank you to everyone for the support both ways, it was amazing. I’m pleased to be through after a really tough one.”

  Paire, possessor of one of the best beards in sport but not one of the best temperaments, has toyed with retirement at the age of 34 and came into the event as a wild card ranked 134.

  When they met in the same round at the US Open last summer, Norrie won two lightning quick sets 6-0 either side of a competitive second, with Paire packing up his bag before the match had finished.

  The Frenchman said afterwards it could have been his final match but he decided to continue and his attitude was much better here.

  He probably should have won a scrappy first set that lasted almost an hour, breaking for 4-3 and then having seven more break points after Norrie had levelled.

  The 27-year-old has struggled for wins over the last two months after a brilliant start to the season and there was not the same certainty on his groundstrokes that British tennis fans have been accustomed to.

  Norrie’s biggest weapon is his consistency but here he was caught between dropping shots too short and pushing them long and it was his fighting spirit and a dependable wide serve to Paire’s backhand that helped him through the opener.

  Norrie looked a little more relaxed at the start of the second set and immediately had a break point but it was he who was broken to trail 2-1 after a contentious moment when umpire Nico Helwerth docked him a point for what appeared a very harsh hindrance call at 30-30, the official claiming Norrie had shouted out during play.

  The crowd were in full voice when Paire managed to hold to level the match, and the French national anthem boomed around Suzanne Lenglen when their man broke again to lead 2-1 in the third set.

  With Paire feeding off the support, Norrie was kept on the back foot and this corner of Paris was in party mood as the Frenchman moved two sets to one in front.

  The fourth set went by in a flash, with Paire broken early and then appearing to save himself for a decider, where Norrie handed his opponent the initiative again right at the start with a game full of errors.

  But the British number one did not allow his head to drop and his probing earned dividends with a break back for 4-4 before Paire finally cracked.

• Shoulder injury forces Jack Draper out of French Open

  Jack Draper suffered more physical problems at the French Open when a left shoulder problem forced him to pull out during his first-round clash with Tomas Etcheverry.

  The 21-year-old has struggled with hip and abdominal problems this season but declared himself fully fit ahead of the year’s second grand slam.

  However, it became clear in the eighth game that Draper was ailing physically again when he started to serve underarm.

  He managed to hold serve to make it 4-4 but Argentinian Etcheverry claimed the next two games to take the opening set, after which a resigned-looking Draper called the trainer.

  He took some pills and tried to play on but, trailing 0-30 in the second game of the second set, pulled the plug and shook hands with his opponent before trudging off court.

  There is no doubt about Draper’s potential but, rather like his former junior compatriot Emma Raducanu, his body has so far been unable to hold up to the rigours of top-level tennis.

  He will now hope this issue does not seriously impact his grass-court prospects, with Wimbledon starting in five weeks.

• Stefanos Tsitsipas survives Jiri Vesely scare to reach French Open second round

  Stefanos Tsitsipas survived a scare against Jiri Vesely in his opening match at the French Open.

  The 2021 finalist seemed to have the contest well under control after a slow start when he moved two sets ahead of his Czech opponent but Vesely took the third and had three set points at 6-3 in the fourth-set tie-break to force a decider.

  Fifth seed Tsitsipas saved all of them, though, before clinching a 7-5 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7) victory and roaring with relief.

  The Greek knows he will need to play better going forward, saying: “It was a great comeback from me on that tie-breaker. I didn’t really play the way I wanted to play.

  “I started just going more to the ball, being much more aggressive on my shot-making, and I kind of dictated a little bit better. The match was very inconsistent from my side. I felt like I haven’t played a match with so much inconsistency in a very long time.

  “There weren’t a lot of rallies in play. He was serving big, so I had to find ways to change that. At times I felt like my footwork was lousy.

  “But otherwise I’m happy with how things turned around, and my fighting spirit went on full display in those last few points of the tie-breaker. It was a great way to end it by just being patient and waiting for that chance to pop up.”

  Tsitsipas has had an up-and-down season so far and struggled with injury after reaching his second grand slam final at the Australian Open but the clay-court swing has seen him find more consistency.

  The 24-year-old revealed he is trying to play with a smile on his face having been influenced by Carlos Alcaraz’s positive attitude.

  “I had a practice session with Carlitos the other day and did throw in a ‘thank you’ just randomly, and I don’t know if he understood that or not,” said Tsitsipas.

  “I owe a lot to Carlitos because he’s such a breath of fresh air. He’s so competitive and he’s always with a smile on his face, and so much charisma to him and so much positive energy that he distributes.

  “I think that’s contributed a lot to his growth as a tennis player and his consistency, too. I admire him for who he is. I have that capacity of being that person. I truly believe that.”

  Eleventh seed Karen Khachanov, who has reached the semi-finals at the last two grand slams, had to fight back from two sets down to beat Constant Lestienne, and the vocal French crowd, 3-6 1-6 6-2 6-1 6-3.

  Hubert Hurkacz also survived a five-setter against David Goffin while 24th seed Sebastian Korda saw off fellow American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4 7-5 6-4.