Nick Kyrgios has made a successful return to the court, defeating world number 36 Corentin Moutet in Stuttgart to claim only his second singles victory since 2022.
Kyrgios, who was awarded a wildcard at the ATP Tour grass-court event, triumphed 6-3, 6-4.
He will face world number 101 Sho Shimabukuro in the round of 16.
Kyrgios, 31, is young enough to have several more years on tour, but that depends on his mental desire and physical capability.
A litany of injuries, most notably affecting his knee and wrist, is the reason behind his lengthy absences from the tour since his 2022 season in which he made the Wimbledon final.
He last played a singles match at January’s Brisbane International.
Fellow Australians James Duckworth and Rinky Hijikata also won in Stuttgart.
Duckworth eased past German teenager Diego Dedura 6-4, 6-3 but Hijikata was made to work harder by another local wildcard, Tom Gentzsch, before coming through 6-7 (7/9), 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.
They now meet fourth seed Jiří Lehečka and sixth seed Frances Tiafoe respectively.
AAP