BBC Radio 5 Live's Ian Carter reports

Both are hoping to qualify for the elite eight-man field at the ATP Tour world championships in Hanover later this month.

Ninth seed Henman proved too good for France's Arnaud di Pasquale and went through 6-3 6-3.

"He's a talented guy and he's dangerous. I knew I had to jump on him early on and fortunately that's what I did. It was a good way to start the tournament. I felt I played some of the big points pretty well," Henman said afterwards.

He broke di Pasquale, the reigning world junior champion, in the second game and should have taken a 4-0 lead in the first set but hit a backhand beyond the baseline.

Henman's only serious alarm came when he faced two break points at 1-2 in the second set, but he put the danger behind him and broke twice to wrap up the match.

"If I can win a couple more matches here Ishall be right back in contention for Hanover. I'm also playing Stockholm next week where I really fancy my chances. It's on hard court and that willhelp me more than here," he added.

Henman next faces either Yevgeny Kafelnikov or Magnus Norman on Thursday for a place in the quarter-finals.

Fellow Briton Rusedski needed only one extra game as he defeated Nicolas Kiefer 6-3 6-4 in a match of identical length - 68 minutes.

It was Rusedski's second victory over the German on French soil, having beaten him in Toulouse five weeks ago.

Henman: Outplayed former world junior champion

He lost only four points against his serve in the opening set and broke Kiefer in the fourth game.

Rusedski, the 13th seed, encountered problems in the second set, saving seven break points.

But he opened a 5-3 lead and had his first match pointin the next game when Kiefer double faulted at 30-30.

The German number one is not renowned as a big-server but came up with three successive aces to save the situation.

He also won the opening point in the next game, before Rusedski produced a service winner and two superb forehands to seal the win.

Rusedski needs to reach the final to have a realistic chance of making the Hanover event.

"To be honest, I think it's going to be nearly impossible for me to qualify. But I'm going to try my best and finish as high as I can in the rankings by the end of the year," he said.