Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga stayed on course to qualifying for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals, advancing to the third round of the Paris Masters with a nervy 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (2) win over compatriot Julien Benneteau.
Only two spots remain for the World Tour Finals to be held in London, with six players having already qualified, and Tsonga will guarantee himself a place if he reaches the quarterfinals.
"There was a lot of tension, a lot of intensity, a very complicated round for me," Tsonga said. "I fought until the end. I hung in there, and I'm happy for the way I pulled it out because it was not easy.
"In the third set I believe I was in a different state of mind. I had other intentions and it worked out for me.
"Maybe things went my way. Sometimes against Julien I serve very hard and the ball comes back to me even faster. It was just a first (second) round and it was against Julien. He had nothing to lose. He was hitting hard.
"In the end I won, and this is what I will remember."
Tsonga will face the winner between Nicolas Almagro and Albert Ramos. If the enigmatic Frenchman wins that match, he will seal a place in the World Tour Finals.
In other matches, Tomas Berdych, who has already qualified for the season-ending tournament, got the better of Andreas Seppi 7-6, 6-2.
Stanislas Wawrinka, the lone Swiss representative in the tournament after Roger Federer pulled out, defeated Carlos Berlock of Argentina 6-3, 6-2 in 66 minutes. The win will come as a bit of a relief to the veteran, after he suffered a first round loss to Nikolay Davydenko in the Swiss Indoors in Basel last week.
Japan's Kei Nishikori fought past wildcard Benoit Paire 7-6 (2), 6-2 and will now face either Gilles Simon or Victor Hanescu.
Novak Djokovic, who will retain the world number one ranking at the end of the season after Federer's withdrawal, will open his tournament with a match against Sam Querrey after the American won his first round match against Fernando Verdasco -- the Spaniard withdrawin in the second set due to injury with the score 6-1, 1-1 in the American's favor.
