Cameron Norrie overcame Frenchman Valentin Royer to reach the Moselle Open second round in Metz – but fellow Briton Jacob Fearnley suffered an early exit in Athens.
World number 27 Norrie was taken the distance by the in-form Royer, who dominated a second-set tie-break, but the seventh seed reset to win 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 at the French tournament.
British number two Norrie, who described last week’s victory over then world number one Carlos Alcaraz as the biggest of his career, reached the final of the Moselle Open last year.
He faces another home player in Arthur Cazaux next as he bids for his first ATP Tour title since 2023.
“The whole match was not easy,” Norrie said.
“It’s [Royer’s] first proper year on the tour and he has almost reached the top 50. I had to fight hard.”
Earlier, Britain’s Jan Choinski fell to a 4-6 6-4 6-4 defeat to Lorenzo Sonego at the same tournament.
At the other ATP 250 event taking place in the final week of the regular season, British number three Fearnley lost 6-4 6-2 to Bosnian player Damir Dzumhur in Greece.