Gael Monfils sees off Edouard Roger-Vasselin at French Open

Gael Monfils booked his place in the second round of the French Open by beating Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-2 6-7 6-1 7-5 this afternoon.

The 28-year-old struck 68 winners against his fellow countryman to advance and keep alive his hopes of progressing beyond the last four at Roland Garros for the first time.

"I'm happy because I was quite zen," Monfils told the ATP's official website. "I saved my strength to be able to boost things up.

"So given the difficult conditions, I'm quite happy I played many winning shots today, but I had some problem finding the game I wanted to find because of the wind."

Monfils will now face Diego Schwartzman in the second round.