After two days of shock exits from the French Open, day three was a little more stable as the first round matches were completed at Roland-Garros.
Two French legends took it up to their highly ranked opponents in an absolute brilliant swan song driven by the raucous Paris crowds.
A potential contender to hot favourite Iga Swiatek also looked in tip top shape after blitzing her first round match.
Ruud given scare by legend Tsonga, Simon winds back the clock against Carreno-Busta
It was supposed to be Jo Wilfried-Tsonga's career swansong on centre court at the French Open - a first round match against Roland-Garros contender Casper Ruud - with the former world no.5 set to retire after the tournament.
But the French showman drummed up all of his immense skill and trickery to take it right up to the Norwegian clay courter, eventually going down 6-7(6) 7-6(4) 6-2 7-6(0) in three hours, 49 minutes.
With Ruud the almost unbackable favourite to win the match, Tsonga matched the eighth seed, before snatching the first set in a tiebreaker.
The second set also needed a breaker, with Tsonga taking a 2-0 and 3-2 lead, before Rudd steamed away to level the match.
Ruud stepped up a level to win the third set 6-2 before Tsonga lifted one final time in the fourth set, in what looked likely to be the last one in his career.
However, Ruud won the tiebreaker to get through the almighty scare and will now face talented Finn Emil Ruusuvuori in the second round.
Tsonga finishes his career with 18 career titles, an appearance in the 2008 Australian Open and over $22 million in prize money.
Another French stalwart Gilles Simon stunned 16th seed Pablo Carreno Busta in an epic five-set match 6-4 6-4 4-6 1-6 6-4 .
The 37-year-old, who has been in semi-retirement over the past 12 months, was a huge underdog against an accomplished clay courter, but shocked the Spaniard to take the first two sets.
It looked like Carreno Busta would steam roll Simon after snaring the third and fourth sets easily, but the French veteran rallied from a break down in the final set to set up a second round match with Steve Johnson.
Paula Badosa shapes as Swiatek's biggest threat
With the elimination of Ons Jabeur, Anett Kontaveit and Naomi Osaka in the first round, the French Open is waiting for contenders to emerge as threats to overwhelming favourite Iga Swiatek.
Third seed Paula Badosa has put her hand up after a 6-2 6-0 demolition of French wildcard Fiona Ferro.
While her opponent was only ranked 130, Badosa impressed with a clinical display in only 54 minutes, to set up a meeting with dangerous Slovenian Kaja Juvan in the second round.
A victory against Juvan, who reached the final in the WTA 250 Strasbourg last week, would signal Badosa is ready to challenge Swiatek.
De Minaur melts in front of boisterous French Open fans
In one of the biggest upsets of the day, Australian 19th seed Alex de Minaur was eliminated in the first round by France's Hugo Gaston 4-6 6-2 6-3 0-6 7-6(4), in a contest lasting almost four hours.
De Minaur struggled with the unpredictability of the 74th-ranked Gaston, even going behind in the first set, before he battled back to clinch it.
Gaston then drew on the boisterous French crowd - which De Minaur criticised post-match - to win the next two sets, before losing concentration to be bageled in the fourth.
However, the 21-year-old Frenchman outlasted De Minaur in a tiebreak in a fifth to move into a second round match with Pedro Cachin.
The Australian was disappointed with the crowd's behaviour, zeroing in on some particular things he didn't like about the atmosphere.
“I think there’s a difference between a great atmosphere and supporting your fellow countryman, which is completely fine and it’s great,” De Minaur said.
“For him, it was an amazing atmosphere. He enjoyed every second of it, but there’s a line.
“When I’m getting told things by people in the crowd, making eye contact with me after I hit a double fault, I think there’s a certain line that needs to be kind of looked at.
“Good for him for playing a great match in front of his home crowd and being able to feed off that, and having a moment that I’m sure he won’t forget.”
French Open results Day 3 wrap
| Match | Result | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| Casper Ruud (8) def. Jo Wilfried-Tsonga | 6-7(6) 7-6(4) 6-2 7-6(0) | Men's singles - first round |
| Paula Badosa (3) def. Fiona Ferro | 6-2 6-0 | Women's singles - first round |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) def. Lorenzo Musett | 5-7 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-2 | Men's singles - first round |
| Daniil Medvedev (2) def. Facundo Bagnis | 6-2 6-2 6-2 | Men's singles - first round |
| Hugo Gaston def. Alex de Minaur (19) | 4-6 6-2 6-3 0-6 7-6(4) | Men's singles - first round |
| Aryna Sabalenka (7) def. Chloe Paquet | 2-6 6-3 6-4 | Women's singles - first round |
| Simona Halep (19) def. Nastasja Schunk | 6-4 -1-6 6-1 | Women's singles - first round |
| Gilles Simon def. Pablo Carreno Busta (16) | 6-4 6-4 4-6 1-6 6-4 | Men's singles - first round |
French Open matches to look out for on Day 4
The quality action continues at the French Open with the second round, as clay king Rafael Nadal takes on Frenchman Corentin Moutet, who dismissed former Roland-Garros champion Stan Wawrinka in his first match.
Third seed Alexander Zverev faces a tricky contest against Argentine clay courter Sebastian Baez, while U.S Open champion Emma Raducanu takes on Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who is ranked just outside the seedings.
World no.1 Novak Djokovic will meet in-form Slovak Alex Molcan, as he bids to catch Nadal in career Grand Slam titles.
