Eleventh seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has beaten Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets to progress to the second round of the Italian Open.
The Frenchman looked to be in for a quick match when he raced to a 5-1 lead in the opening set, while his opponent struggled to find his rhythm on serve.
However, the Ukrainian managed to get a break back to stop Tsonga serving out for a one-set lead in the seventh game, before holding the next game, but the world number 13 wrapped it up next time around.
Dolgopolov put up a stronger defence in the second set, keeping the score on serve to force a tie-break.
The 25-year-old found himself 5-3 up as he looked to level the match, but Tsonga dug deep to win four points in a row and wrap up the meeting.
Tsonga will face either Kevin Anderson or Vasek Pospisil in the next round.
Sian Cowper
