Tim Henman started his 2006 season with a morale-boosting 6-4 6-4 win over Richard Gasquet at the Qatar Open.
Henman showed no signs of the back injury that dogged him last season as he moved impressively around court and pounded some big serves.
The Briton carved out a break at 3-2 in the opening set with some excellent play at the net and served out the set.
Gasquet's errors then handed Henman a break in the second and the Briton held off late pressure to wrap up the match.
Henman will now meet Germany's Tommy Haas in the second round after he beat Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka 5-7 6-2 7-5.
Gasquet and Henman were meeting on court for the first time and quickly engaged in an intriguing battle in Doha.
"I was looking for a good start and I am happy that I could do it against a player of Gasquet's calibre. It's been a long time since I played so well"
The French 19-year-old hit some remarkable groundstrokes in the opening stages while Henman countered with his trademark serve-and-volley game.
But Gasquet's inconsistency from the back of the court saw Henman convert his sixth break point in game five - and that was enough to claim the set.
The third seed hit back with some fiery shots in the second and broke the British 31-year-old to go 2-0 up.
Henman coolly stood his ground and broke straight back before breaking for a second time at 3-3.
Gasquet rallied again to carve out two break points as Henman tried to serve for the match but the Briton held his nerve, delivering two strong serves to triumph.