France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga survived a first-set scare to advance into the third round of the French Open with a 7-6 6-4 6-3 win against Finn Jarkko Nieminen on Wednesday.

The sixth-seeded Tsonga, the last French man to reach a Grand Slam final at the 2008 Australian Open final, next faces French 25th seed Jeremy Chardy, who secured a 6-1 7-5 win over Spain’s Robert Bautista Agut.

Tsonga saved a set point in the first-set tiebreak but then turned up the power and never looked back on a chilly Court Philippe Chatrier.

He ended the contest on his first match point with a backhand passing shot after less than two hours.

“I was opportunistic, I made the most of my chances,” Tsonga told a courtside interviewer.

A cacophony of noise signalled the belated appearance of women's third seed Victoria Azarenka as the Belarusian eased to the second round.

The stadium was barely one third full as Azarenka went through her paces but the low decibel level from the crowd was countered by the grunts, howls and groans coming from the two players.

Azarenka just about won the noise battle, although Russian Elena Vesnina ran her close, and she had little trouble winning the match either, going through 6-1 6-4.

Incredibly making her eighth main draw appearance at the French Open despite still being only 23, Azarenka had to wait until the fourth day to begin her challenge after rainy weather on Tuesday meant her first-round match was cancelled.

She now faces the prospect of seven matches in 11 days if she is to win the title here.

The twice Australian Open champion has never shone in Paris, with her best performance being quarter-finals in 2009 and 2011.

“It was great to start and there some tough points, especially for a first round match,” Azarenka, who was briefly troubled in the second set, said on court before declaring her love for Paris.

She will face Germany’s Annika Beck in the second round after her 6-2 6-1victory over Sandra Zahlavova of the Czech Republic.