Playing on French soil for the first time since defeating world No. 1 Novak Djokovic for the Roland Garros title, Stan Wawrinka needed three sets to outlast upset-minded Dustin Brown at the Moselle Open in Metz, where he advanced to the quarter-finals via a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) win.

“Dustin is a tough player,” said Wawrinka, who improved to 43-13 on the year. “He’s really aggressive. Especially in the first round, it’s never easy. But I was happy with my game.”

Serving at 4-4 in the telltale third-set tiebreak, Brown approached the net with a down-the-line forehand, but the German didn’t put the ball deep enough. The top-seeded Wawrinka responded with a crosscourt backhand winner to clinch a pivotal mini break and went on to close out the match in one hour, 57 minutes.

Brown saved 10 of 11 break-point opportunities in all, winning 68 percent (72 of 105) of his service points. Wawrinka finished with eight aces.

Elsewhere, fourth seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez rallied from a set down to beat wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.

The Spaniard notched his 26th win of the season in one hour and 35 minutes, withstanding 13 aces and converting three of his six break points. Garcia-Lopez is a two-time champion on the ATP World Tour this season, lifting the trophies in Zagreb (d. Seppi) and Bucharest (d.Vesely).

Garcia-Lopez advances to a quarter-final clash with sixth seed Martin Klizan, who defeated Wimbledon quarter-finalist Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 7-6(7) in one hour and 52 minutes.

“It was a tough match against Vasek, because he is a great player,” said Klizan. “He has one of the best serves in the world. I tried to focus on the return and in the tie-break I was a bit lucky.”

Also advancing to the quarter-finals was 33-year-old Nicolas Mahut, who registered 24 aces in upsetting seventh seed Adrian Mannarino in three sets 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3. He will next face another fellow Frenchman in No. 3 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber improved to 3-0 against Paolo Lorenzi with a 6-3, 6-3 win over the unseeded Italian in one hour and seven minutes.