Tsonga, seeded 13th, was relatively untroubled in his opening-round clash against Edouard Roger-Vasselin, prevailing 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 6-2 in the all-French affair.
A semi-finalist last year, Tsonga is looking to become the first Frenchman to win at Roland Garros since Yannick Noah in 1983, but is not looking that far ahead just yet.
“I played a strong game,” said the 29-year-old, who was runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the 2008 Australian Open. “I did what I needed to do during it.
“I managed to win it in three sets, but I could have had more problems, especially during the first set and in the second.
“Everything went well in the end for me, so I am happy to be in the second round.
“I haven’t looked at the draw because even If you do, you do not want to see if people are talking about you.
“I’ve seen that Novak Djokovic was on my side of the draw, but first I am going to try to remain focused in order to get the final stages of the tournament, and when I get there we can talk about it.”
Tsonga will face either Belgium’s David Goffin or Austria’s Jurgen Melzer in the next round.
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