On February 11, local time, the first round of the men's singles competition at the ATP 250 Marseille station began, and Zhang Zhizhen narrowly defeated local player Aris 6-3/6-7(2)/7-6(3), ending the five-game losing streak on the tour and winning the second victory on the tour this year. Zhang will face No.4 seed Hurkacz in the second round, and the two sides have met four times before, with Zhang winning 1-3.

Zhang Zhizhen

Kazakhstan's Bublik claimed his 100th career hard court victory with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over 38-year-old local veteran Gasquet. Gasquet ended the last trip of his career to Marseille after the Frenchman announced that he would officially retire after this year's French Open. The 16-year-old became the youngest men's singles champion in the tournament's history when he defeated Fie Lopez in the 2003 Marseille final, a record he still holds to this day.

"He's had a fantastic career, he's been on the tour for 20 years, playing 1,012 games, and I don't think his career will last that long." "After all these years, it should be a great feeling to play in Marseille for the last time, and I wish him all the best in his life after retiring, he still has a few tournaments to play, he is a legend of French Open." Bublik will next face another homegrown player, defending champion Amber in the second round.

Portugal's Jorges Borges struggled 6-7(4)/7-6(1)/6-3 over three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka as the Swiss star struggled to find a win this season. It was Borges' first indoor win since Antwerp 2023 and the first Portuguese to win in the tournament's history. In addition, Altmaier, Berges, Struff and Luca Van Ascher also won in the first round.

(Text, Editor/Faye Wong, Photo/Visual China)