Marat Safin is looking to kick-start his stuttering career at this year's French Open after progressing to the second round.
The two-time grand slam winner, who was a semi-finalist in Paris in 2002, has endured a couple of lean seasons and is now ranked 73rd in the world.
Among the unseeded players at Roland Garros this year, Safin recovered from losing the first set against Monaco's Jean-Rene Lisnard to prevail 6-7 (5/7) 6-1 6-3 6-2.
During his recent struggles there have been various reports suggesting Safin had flirted with the idea of retirement, but he dismissed such thoughts following his victory.
"I'm still playing, still enjoying it, even though I'm in a tough position," the 28-year-old said.
"A couple of months ago, I was almost out of the top 100. But why retire when everything is functioning? I don't think I will be retiring any time soon."
Safin meets fourth seed and countryman Nikolay Davydenko next in a potentially mouth-watering tie.
Another player seeking to rediscover past glory is Australian Lleyton Hewitt who also negotiated his first-round tie with local favourite Nicolas Mahut 6-4 6-2 6-4.
The former world number one is the 25th seed at Roland Garros this year, but despite having never gone beyond the quarter-finals at the French Open, he remains a dark horse owing to his battling qualities from the baseline.
"I really stepped up when I needed to, especially on my return of serve," Hewitt said.
"It is good to get through in tough conditions out there."
The news was not so good for 2003 French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero, who was forced to quit midway through his first-round match with Brazilian Marcos Daniel.
The Spaniard had won the opening set on a tie-break and was level at 2-2 in the second when he withdrew with a leg injury.
"I've suffered this pain for quite a while but it's a bit of a strange problem because scans and X-rays don't show anything," said Ferrero, who started feeling the injury towards the end of first set.
"At the moment, I don't exactly know what the problem is. Doctors tell me they know and they told me they could cure it but it still hurts - they use words I don't understand.
"It's a bit of a shame because I feel good with my tennis."
Elsewhere, three-time champion Rafael Nadal maintained his unbeaten streak at Roland Garros in easing past Thomaz Bellucci 7-5 6-3 6-1, and fifth seed David Ferrer claimed a straightforward 6-3 6-4 6-3 win over Belgium's Steve Darcis.
