Sixth seed Benoit Paire secured safe passage through to the last 16 of the Open 13 Marseille in one of three main-draw matches on Monday.
Paire was drawn against compatriot Gregoire Barrere in a battle of two home hopefuls, but the more established player triumphed in straight sets.
The 20th-ranked star broke in the third game of the opener and protected his advantage in straightforward fashion.
There were no breaks in the second, but Paire dominated the tie-break to claim a 6-4 7-6 (7-1) victory.
Barrere was not the only Frenchman to exit the competition, as former world number seven Richard Gasquet went down 6-3 3-6 7-5 to Mikael Ymer.
Ymer will now meet Stefanos Tsitsipas, the defending champion and number two seed, who was granted a first-round bye.
In the final match of the day, Alexander Bublik defeated Marton Fucsovics 6-4 7-5.
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