Novak Djokovic returned to action with an "ugly" win over Ivan Gakhov in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday.
The world number one was competing for the first time in five weeks after missing the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open due to being unable to enter the United States.
Djokovic, who has since been cleared to compete in the US Open later this year, faced a spirited challenge from world number 198 Ivan Gakhov but advanced 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.
Gakhov broke his somewhat rusty opponent in the seventh game, but Djokovic hit back instantly as the opening set went to a tie-break.
The Serbian appeared rattled at various points, but an unforced error from Gakhov paved the way for Djokovic to open up some day light and take the opener.
The second set went the way of serve until the fifth game, when a double fault from Gakhov gave his opponent the chance to capitalise and see out the win.
"It was probably, if you can call it this way, an ugly tennis win for me today," Djokovic said in his on-court interview. "I haven't played my best, particularly in the first set.
"And I kind of expected that that was going to happen in a way with swirly conditions, a lot of wind today, changing directions.
"It's different practising and then playing an official match on clay, where I guess no two bounces are the same. It's always quite unpredictable what's going to happen.
"But all in all, I'm just pleased with the way I held my nerves I think in the important moments and I managed to clinch the two-set win."
Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas also advanced to the last 16 with a walkover win over Benjamin Bonzi, who retired with a wrist injury when 4-1 down in the opening set.
Fifth seed Andrey Rublev had a tougher time of things against Jaume Munar as he recovered from a set down to progress 4-6 6-2 6-2
Hubert Hurkacz was the other seeded player in action on Tuesday and defeated Jack Draper 6-3 6-7 (7-3) 7-5.
Swiatek opens Olympic bid with straight-sets win over Begu
Iga Swiatek got her bid for Olympic gold up and running with a straight-sets victory over Irina-Camelia Begu in Paris.
The world number one is the firm favourite to win gold at Roland-Garros, where she has won four editions of the French Open, including the last three in a row.
Swiatek and Begu traded breaks at the outset of their clash on Court Philippe-Chatrier, but the Pole continued to put her opponent under pressure when receiving and back-to-back breaks took the opener away from Begu.
The second set was more of a slog for Swiatek and a break in the seventh game had Begu serving to level things up, but Swiatek found a second wind to break back and only dropped one further point from there, winning 6-2 7-5.
Swiatek will face Argentina's Nadia Podoroska or home favourite Diane Parry in the second round, with the likes of Danielle Collins, Jessica Pegula, Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber also on her side of the draw.
On the other side of the bracket, Jasmine Paolini – the runner-up at both the French Open and Wimbledon this year – advanced with a 7-5 6-3 win over Ana Bogdan.
Data Debrief: Twenty-two and counting for Swiatek
Swiatek has now won a remarkable 22 successive matches on the courts of Roland-Garros, last losing at the venue to Maria Sakkari in the 2021 French Open quarter-finals.
In all clay-court tournaments, she has won her last 20 matches, also capturing titles in Madrid and Rome earlier this year.
Djokovic thrilled by prospect of 'one last dance' with Nadal
Novak Djokovic is thrilled by the prospect of meeting Rafael Nadal for "one last dance" at the Paris Olympics, if the Spaniard overcomes an injury setback to feature at Roland-Garros.
Thursday's men's singles draw saw Djokovic paired with Australia's Matthew Ebden in the first round, with Nadal taking on Marton Fucsovics.
The legendary duo – who have won 46 grand slam singles titles between them – will meet in the second round if they both advance through their openers this weekend.
Djokovic and Nadal have previously faced off on 59 occasions, with the Serbian winning 30 of those contests but losing four of the last six, the most recent being a Nadal victory in four sets in the 2022 French Open quarter-finals.
Nadal's participation at the Games was thrown into doubt when his coach Carlos Moya said he had suffered a "setback" on Thursday and required 48 hours of rest.
If Nadal – who is widely expected to retire later this year – does make the tournament, Djokovic is looking forward to the prospect of facing him for a 60th time.
"Obviously he hasn't played much. His ranking dropped, so there was always going to be that possibility of me meeting him in an early round and there we go," Djokovic said.
"It's going to be a spectacle, definitely, if we get to meet. We will spread some fireworks on the court, like the good old times.
"I hope we get to meet because it will probably be one last dance for the both of us."
Djokovic is set to appear at his fifth Olympics in the French capital, the joint-most by any male player since the sport returned to the Games in 1988 (with Yen Hsun Lu).
He is the player with the most matches played (19) and joint-most matches won (13, level with Roger Federer) at the Olympics since 1988.
However, his best result at the Games remains a Bronze medal at Beijing 2008, when he was beaten by eventual gold medallist Nadal in the semi-finals.
Djokovic lost the bronze medal match to Pablo Carreno Busta at the delayed Tokyo Games three years ago, also losing to Juan Martin del Potro at both London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Linette dominates first all-Polish WTA final to win Prague Open
Magda Linette rounded off her Olympic preparations in style as she claimed her third WTA title with a comfortable win over Magdalena Frech at the Prague Open.
Linette, who beat Viktoriya Tomova and Linda Noskova on her way to the final, won in straight sets 6-2 6-1 as she now heads to Paris to face Mirra Andreeva.
The world number 41 was in the ascendency from the off, forcing a break in the fourth game and never looking back.
Despite the best efforts of Frech, who saved one set point, Linette continued to apply the pressure and another break put her a set up.
Linette would again break in the fourth game of the second set, winning three games on the bounce to secure her first career win over her compatriot.
Data Debrief: Linette prevails in first all-Polish affair
The final in Prague between Linette and Frech was the first all-Polish WTA level final in the Open Era.
Linette's triumph over her opponent was her first, having lost in the pair's previous encounter in Saint-Malo back in 2022.
During the contest, the world number 41 gave nothing away, saving all four of the break points she faced while converting three of the seven she had against Frech.
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