Jo-Wilfried Tsonga savoured a "fantastic" win as the veteran Frenchman showed in Montpellier there might still be life left in his career.
Ranked 259th by the ATP after two injury-blighted years, the former world number five scored his first main-tour singles victory since last March in Marseille as he beat Poland's Kacper Zuk at the Open Sud de France on Tuesday.
Tsonga battled for a 6-4 6-4 victory in the first round, and the 36-year-old, who has battled back and leg problems, said: "It's just amazing for me to be here on the court playing.
"For me, the goal is to have fun again, to find a level where I can beat great players again."
The former Australian Open runner-up competed last week at a Challenger Tour event, while the first grand slam of the year was carrying on without him in Melbourne.
He abandoned his 2021 campaign after a first-round loss at Wimbledon, where he was beaten in five sets by Sweden's Mikael Ymer.
Quoted on the ATP website after his return to winning ways, Tsonga said: "I had a few difficult months and to win like this for one of my first matches of the year, it's just fantastic for me.
"You cannot do it without the people around you. I have the chance to have very good people around me, and it gave me the opportunity to live some moments like this."
Qualifier Gilles Simon saw off wildcard Lucas Pouille 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-4 in a battle of two French compatriots of Tsonga who are both fellow former top-10 tour stars.
Other winners on Tuesday in Montpellier included Serbian Filip Krajinovic, who will face Tsonga on Wednesday, plus Ymer and France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
At the Tata Open Maharashtra, staged in the Indian city of Pune, seeds Emil Ruusuvuori and Stefano Travaglia both came through their opening tests. Ruusuvuori beat Egor Gerasimov 6-0 7-6 (13-11), while Travaglia was pushed hard by India's Ramkumar Ramanathan, eventually scraping through 7-6 (9-7) 4-6 6-3.
Top seed Sinner withdraws from Madrid Open ahead of quarter-finals
Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the Madrid Open due to a hip injury ahead of his scheduled quarter-final clash with Felix Auger Aliassime.
The world number two was due to face Auger Aliassime for a place in the semi-finals after fighting back to overcome Karen Khachanov in three sets on Tuesday.
However, the Italian has been advised to withdraw to avoid aggravating an issue with his right hip, which he says has troubled him throughout the tournament.
Sinner, who is 28-2 for the season and won his first grand slam title at the Australian Open earlier this year, wrote on X: "Very sad to have to withdraw from my next match here in Madrid.
"My hip has been bothering me this week and has slowly been getting more painful. Taking the advice from the doctors, we decided it's best to not play further and make it worse."
Sinner's withdrawal means Auger Aliassime will advance to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final since 2022, with Daniil Medvedev or Jiri Lehecka – who eliminated Rafael Nadal on Tuesday – up next for the Canadian.
On the other side of the draw, two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz suffered a surprise exit at the hands of Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, with the Russian set to face either Taylor Fritz or Francisco Cerundolo in the last four.
Alcaraz sees Madrid Open reign ended by Rublev in last eight
Carlos Alcaraz saw his hopes of a third straight Madrid Open crown dashed on Wednesday, as Andrey Rublev fought back to seal a statement quarter-final win over the defending champion.
Alcaraz had been pushed close in the last 16 by Jan-Lennard Struff on Tuesday, requiring two tie-breaks to see off the German in three sets, and those exertions seemed to take their toll as he produced a below-par display on Wednesday.
Seven unforced errors from Rublev helped the home favourite take the opener, but he appeared to tire from there as his seventh-seeded opponent fired in 27 winners in a 4-6 6-3 6-2 victory.
Rublev broke Alcaraz's serve in the first and fifth games of the decider, also serving impressively to deny the Spaniard a single break point after a nervous first hold.
Alcaraz's exit ended home interest in the tournament, just one day after five-time champion Rafael Nadal was dumped out in the last 16 by Jiri Lehecka.
Speaking to Sky Sports Tennis, Rublev said: "I can't believe that I was able to stay calm throughout the match. I didn't say a word and even I'm impressed by that!
"I want to believe that I have been working on this because if not, then I'm stupid. I just thought to myself to keep trying, keep fighting, keep believing in yourself."
Data Debrief: Major scalp for Rublev
To say Rublev entered Wednesday's match as the underdog would be an understatement. Alcaraz was looking to become the first player to win three straight Madrid Open singles titles, and was 24-0 in Spanish clay-court events since the start of 2022.
Rublev, though, was not overawed by the occasion and punished a sluggish performance from the world number three. Wednesday's win was his first over a top-three opponent since 2022, and he will now face either Taylor Fritz or Francisco Cerundolo in the last four.
Rybakina saves two match points to beat Putintseva in Madrid Open quarter-finals
Elena Rybakina saved two match points as she outlasted Yulia Putintseva to win a dramatic encounter 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 in the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Wednesday.
The world number four was on the brink of defeat at 5-2 down in the third set, with her fellow Kazakhstani Putintseva eyeing a third win in as many head-to-head meetings between the pair.
However, Rybakina came up with one of the shots of the tournament on Putintseva's first match point, capitalising on a drop shot clipping the net cord to produce a nonchalant winner.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion didn't look back from that moment on, producing back-to-back breaks before holding her nerve through a tense final service game, converting her fourth match point to wrap up a gruelling two-hour, 48-minute contest.
Rybakina has now won 16 successive matches on clay, and she will face either Aryna Sabalenka or Mirra Andreeva in the semi-finals on Thursday.
Data Debrief: Rybakina rampant
Rybakina is the form player on the WTA circuit, with Wednesday's win her 30th of 2024, more than any other player.
She is just the second player to win 30 or more matches in tournaments starting within the first four months of a calendar year, after Iga Swiatek managed 32 victories during the same span in 2022. Swiatek, of course, went on to win the French Open and US Open titles that season.
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