Wawrinka into Monte Carlo tennis 3rd round

Stan Wawrinka’s title defence at the Monte Carlo Masters was off to a solid start on Wednesday with 6-1 6-4 win over Juan Monaco in the second round.

The seventh-seeded Swiss, who won his maiden Masters tournament last year at the Country Club, won 15 of the first 20 points and broke twice to build a 5-1 lead before serving out the first set to love.

After conceding only two points on his serve in the opener, Wawrinka was made to work harder in a second set featuring five breaks of serve.

Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal will open his campaign against wildcard entry Lucas Pouille, while second-seeded Roger Federer will take on Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

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