The eighth seed took a set to crank into gear on the same court one on Tuesday before downing Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis in four sets.
A quarter-finalist in Paris in 2015, Nishikori has been nursing an inflamed wrist that forced him to hand Novak Djokovic a walkover in Madrid this month, though he notched up two wins at last week's Geneva Open.
Provided the injury does not flare up again - which he admitted on Tuesday was a risk - the Japanese would expect to have the measure of Chardy.
The pair are meeting for the second grand slam in a row, with Nishikori having prevailed in straight sets in the second round in Melbourne in January.
In all, he holds a 5-2 record over the 74th-ranked Frenchman and has won the last four for the loss of just one set.
(Reporting by John Stonestreet)
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