Cameron Norrie reached the third round of the French Open for the third year in a row with a comfortable win over home hope Lucas Pouille.
Ranked down at 675 after injury and personal problems, Pouille was bidding to make the last 32 at a slam for the first time since Wimbledon in 2019, but Norrie was too strong in a 6-1 6-3 6-3 victory.
The 14th seed wore strapping under his left knee and will no doubt be relieved to have avoided the drama of his raucous five-set duel with another Frenchman, Benoit Paire, in the first round.
The Suzanne Lenglen crowd were not as much of a factor this time, although there was another moment of umpiring controversy, this time in Norrie’s favour, in the third set.
Pouille was convinced Norrie, who was bizarrely penalised for a hindrance shout against Paire, had not got to a ball before it bounced twice but the British player did not stop play and umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore sided with him.
Pouille complained – and was shown to be correct by TV replays – amid booing from the crowd, and the French player lost four games in a row to move to the brink of defeat.
He roused himself for a late stand, breaking Norrie when he served for the match at 5-1 and having two opportunities to get back on serve, but the British number one took his second match point before a final round of booing from the crowd.
Norrie said: “All credit to Lucas, it’s great to see Lucas back and enjoying his tennis. It was a tough battle, tough to get over the line. Thank you to everyone, great atmosphere. Sorry to take another Frenchman out but hopefully you can support me in the next one.”
Norrie may feel tempted to take to the stage in the off-season given the practice he has now had at being a pantomime villain.
Booed onto court, the partisan home crowd light-heartedly jeered his shots during the warm-up while cheering those of Pouille.
The support had played a big part in inspiring Paire and Norrie appeared determined not to let the same thing happen, imposing his game straight away and looking significantly sharper than he had on Monday.
Pouille, who looked very nervous, won only six points in the first five games and, although he saved a set point to avoid the dreaded bagel, Norrie wrapped up the set in less than half an hour.
Pouille briefly became a top-10 player back in 2018 before reaching the Australian Open semi-finals the following year.
Elbow issues triggered a downward spiral that led to depression and a problem with alcohol, and he took time out of the game last year before returning at the start of this season.
A run through qualifying made him the toast of Roland Garros and he led fans in a rendition of the Marseillaise after winning his first-round match.
The 29-year-old swiftly found himself 2-0 down in the second set as well but raised home hopes by winning three games in a row and applying some real pressure to Norrie.
The British number one did well to nip Pouille’s comeback in the bud before things got complicated, and can look forward to trying to make the last 16 here for the first time.
ATP Finals: Sinner happy to come through 'very tough match' against Fritz
Jannik Sinner insisted he was prepared for the "aggressive" Taylor Fritz in their first meeting since the US Open final in September at the ATP Finals on Tuesday.
Sinner improved his record over Fritz to 3-1 with a 6-4 6-4 victory in Turin, going level with Alexander Zverev with a Tour-leading 67th victory of the season.
The Italian now sits at the top of the Ilie Nastase Group after two games, and faces Daniil Medvedev on Thursday, with the Russian beating Alex de Minaur in straight sets.
"It was a very tough match. We got to know each other from a grand slam final," Sinner said.
"We knew exactly what to expect today. He was very aggressive, but I was prepared too. I just tried to serve well in the important moments.
"In the return positions, his quality of tennis was very, very high, so I was struggling to return his serve, but I was happy with the situation.
"It was a very important day for me today, and I'm very happy that I got through."
Sinner fought off tough resistance from Fritz in front of a home crowd in Turin, hitting 22 winners compared to his opponent's 19.
Fritz had initially earned the first break point of the match, but was unable to make it count before fighting back from 0-40 to level the first set at 4-4.
Sinner ultimately piled the pressure on to win the first set and capitalised on a double fault in the second to break Fritz and win. Fritz will now face de Minaur on Thursday.
ATP Finals: Sinner stays perfect with assured Fritz victory
Jannik Sinner continued his quest to end his stellar season with the ATP Finals title after downing Taylor Fritz in straight-sets to earn his second win of the tournament.
Sinner emerged a 6-4 6-4 victor in an hour and 40 minutes in Turin, with his latest triumph improving his record to 7-0 on indoor hard courts in 2024.
The Italian showed his intentions with a love service game to open the first set, but was matched by his American opponent, who was also looking to maintain his perfect start.
Sinner missed four break points in the eighth game, but made no mistake in Fritz's following service game to claim the early advantage in Turin.
Fritz again traded blows with the year-end world number one, but would again lose a decisive break late in the second set that put Sinner within touching distance.
The American exchanged in another pulsating rally with his opponent, but sent a backhand wide to send Sinner through and to the top of the Ilie Nastase Group after two matches.
Up next for Sinner is Daniil Medvedev, who beat Alex de Minaur earlier on Tuesday, while Fritz will face the Australian on Thursday.
Data Debrief: The Italian Job
In a back-and-forth tussle with Alexander Zverev to end the year with the most wins, Sinner levelled the German with his Tour-leading 67th victory in 2024 on Tuesday.
He also sealed a 12th win against an American opponent this season, only managing more wins against Ben Shelton (three) this season than Fritz (two, level with Alex Michelsen).
Sinner (2023-24) is only the third player in the Open Era to claim 47+ ATP match wins on hard court in consecutive seasons after Roger Federer (2005-06) and Novak Djokovic (2012-13, 15-16).
Daniil Medvedev credited his ability to "block out the noise" as crucial in getting his ATP Finals campaign up and running with a straight-sets victory over Alex de Minaur.
Medvedev, who lost his opening game of the tournament to Taylor Fritz, returned to winning ways with a 6-2 6-4 triumph over the Australian in 78 minutes on Tuesday.
The Russian cut a frustrated figure in his defeat to Fritz on Sunday, breaking his racket and was docked a point after serving a third consecutive double fault during the encounter.
However, the fourth seed produced an expertly measured performance, winning 20 out of 31 baseline points in the opening set to claim the early advantage.
The second set was more evenly contested, but Medvedev secured a crucial break point in the ninth game, going on to seal his first top 10 win on hard courts since March.
"After the last match I was too tired to fight mentally the way I do and so, during the match, when it doesn't work your way, you want to win and when you start losing you get frustrated," Medvedev said.
"So I went into this match thinking, if I lose I go home on Thursday for sure and if I win then I have the chance to have a good feeling. I tried to hit some shots and it worked well and I'm ok with it.
"A lot of football players do it [block the noise]. It's more about social media and for sure after my performance with Taylor and some of my comments ... I tried to read it less.
"I went into this match trying to block the noise even from myself, so no tantrums and I really didn't care what was happening on the court."
Medvedev will seek to bolster his hopes of progressing from the John Newcombe Group when he takes on Jannik Sinner next, with the Italian in action against Fritz later on Tuesday.
Data Debrief: Cool, calm and collected
Medvedev kept his hopes of sealing a second ATP Finals crown alive with a composed display against De Minaur, improving his record to 45-19 for the season.
While the Russian produced more unforced errors (18) than De Minaur (15), Medvedev showed his quality by hitting 24 winners, 14 of which came with his forehand.
Medvedev also claimed his sixth top 10 win of 2024, while also improving his head-to-head record against his Australian opponent to 7-3, avenging his defeat in the French Open round of 16 earlier this year.
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