The Frenchman last featured on tour at the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Championships last July and retired from squash in October before announcing he would come back for a one-off appearance at the Mauritian event's inaugural edition.

Gaultier wound back the clock with some vintage shots that were reminiscent of his time as world number one.

His court craft was enough to secure an 11-7, 15-13, 8-11, 11-9 win over Parker.

"It’s a pleasure to be here, of course, I was planning my retirement here but we had to postpone the event, the last two years, we came here and had a good party and we came to the agreement with the team to have one more go so I’m happy to be back on court," said 39-year-old Gaultier.

"I’ve been on the other side, coaching a lot recently and sometimes you feel a little pinch and you want to be there but it’s time for something else, but I still enjoy being on court and practising and I like being on court with other players as much as possible.

"Obviously, I can’t train as before but I’m happy to step on court and have fun."

The last match of the evening saw another former world number one in action, as England’s James Willstrop had to fight back to defeat India’s Ramit Tandon in a thrilling contest.

Willstrop struggled to get into gear early on as he lost the first game 11-5 before fighting back to show his class in the second game by winning it 11-4.

Tandon then took big leads in both the third and fourth games, but the Englishman came back to triumph in both to win 5-11, 11-4, 11-7, 12-10 overall.

As a result of the victory, Willstrop is now due to face new compatriot Mohamed El Shorbagy in the second round after the latter switched allegiances from Egypt.