Andy Murray celebrated his 37th birthday with victory on his comeback from injury in Bordeaux after his opponent retired in the second set.
The Scot was leading world number 219 Kyrian Jacquet 7-5 2-0 when the Frenchman was forced to pull out.
Murray was playing his first match since damaging tendons in his left ankle at the Miami Open in March, which put his participation at the French Open, and even Wimbledon, in doubt in what is likely to be his final season.
But Murray recovered quicker than expected and returned to action at the Challenger event to get some clay-court matches under his belt ahead of Roland Garros.
The three-time grand slam winner showed no visible discomfort as he secured his first win on clay in more than a year, albeit faster than he might have liked.
British number two Dan Evans, also competing in Bordeaux in a bid to find some form after a tough few months, beat Frenchman Hugo Grenier 6-4 6-4.
At the Italian Open in Rome, world number two Aryna Sabalenka reached the semi-finals with a 6-2 6-4 win over Jelena Ostapenko.
She will face in-form American Danielle Collins, playing in her final season, who beat a distinctly out-of-sorts Victoria Azarenka 6-4 6-3.
On the men’s side, German third seed Alexander Zverev recovered from a nasty fall which left him with grazes on his hands and elbow to defeat American Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-3.
Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo reached his first Masters semi-final, and has yet to drop a set, after a 6-3 6-4 win over Zhang Zhizhen of China.
