Rising to the occasion, 8-time ATP titlist Fabio Fognini stormed to a three-set triumph on Court Simonne-Mathieu over Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime to launch his campaign on French soil in style.
The 36-year-old Italian used his vast experience, bringing some of his best tennis to the court to prevail 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 after two hours and 17 minutes.
Fognini, who is making his 16th appearance at the second grand slam of the season, reached the quarterfinals in 2011 - retired due to injury, in 2018 - lost to Marin Cilic and in 2019 - fell to Alexander Zverev, his best results to date at the French Open.
By beating Canada’s No. 1 racquet on Monday, the Sanremo native earned his first triumph over a Top 10 at Roland Garros, advancing into the second round of the major.
Overall, the World No. 130 won 72 percent of the first serve points on it, while the Montreal born-player won just 58 percent on his.
In addition, he fired 34 winners, committing 32 unforced errors, converting eight of nine breakpoint opportunities, and winning 18 of 22 net approaches.
On Wednesday, he will meet Australian Jason Kubler; the World No. 69 rallied to overcome Argentine lucky loser Facundo Diaz Acosta in a close five-setter after three hours and 27 minutes.
Fognini and Kubler have never faced one another on Tour.
For his part, Auger-Aliassime arrived in Paris off the back of an encouraging campaign in Lyon last week, where he moved through the quarterfinals.
Unfortunately, a shoulder injury halted his run, preventing the 22-year-old from contesting his matchup against Frenchman Arthur Fils.
Meanwhile, Fils, 18, continued his run of form by reaching the championship match at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, defeating Argentine Francisco Cerundolo to lift his maiden ATP trophy on home soil.
He received a wild card to make his main draw debut at Roland Garros, where the local player will face 29th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Monday afternoon in Paris.
Auger-Aliassime made a far-from-ideal start to the European clay-court swing, exiting early in Madrid and Rome before scoring his lone win on the surface at the ATP 250 in Lyon.
After the match in Paris, he stated: “I got a bit sick last night, didn’t really sleep. After one set, [I was] just cramping and just [could not] move anymore.”
“I need to understand why I got sick like I did. Also, a week ago, it happened in Lyon. I got sick the same way.”
Last season, the World No. 10 enjoyed a breakout season, recording 60 wins on his way to claiming all four of his career titles (Rotterdam, Florence, Antwerp, and Basel).
In 2022 at Roland Garros, he fell to eventual champion Rafael Nadal in a thrilling five-set fourth round.