Seven-times defending champion Rafael Nadal and top-ranked Novak Djokovic got their clay-court seasons off to a good start with comfortable wins in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday.
Djokovic opened with a 6-1 6-4 win against Andreas Seppi and Nadal followed up by beating Jarkko Nieminen 6-4 6-3.
Nadal looked a bit rusty at times but showed no obvious discomfort to his troublesome left knee after requiring two weeks of treatment after failing to play his Miami semi-final match due to pain.
Now 40-1 at the venue where he lost his only match in 2003, Nadal won his 38th straight match in the principality as he overcame stubborn resistance from the Finn ranked 48th who claimed the Sydney title in January.
He broke Nieminen’s serve four times and had the match closed for him when the Finn double-faulted.
The world No.2 has not lifted a trophy since the French Open 10 months ago and next plays Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin, who won 7-6 (10-8) 2-6 6-2 against Italian veteran Filippo Volandri in a match featuring 10 service breaks.
Djokovic raced into a 4-0 lead after 19 minutes before Seppi started to fight back. Djokovic ultimately improved to 7-0 against the Italian.
“I haven’t played a match on a clay court since Roland Garros last year, so I’m happy with how I played,” Djokovic said.
The Australian Open champion next faces Ukraine Alexandr Dolgopolov, who had 11 aces in his 6-2 5-7 6-1 win over Australian Bernard Tomic.
“He’s a very talented player and has a lot of variety in his game, so it will be very difficult,” Djokovic said.
Sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, No.7 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia and No.8 Nicolas Almagro of Spain also won in straight sets.
Berdych beat big-serving Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-6 (7-3) 6-1, Tipsarevic won 6-2 6-3 against Spain’s Albert Montanes and Almagro downed Italy’s Potito Starace 7-6 (7-3) 6-1.
Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka hit seven aces in beating Spain’s Pablo Andujar 7-5 6-3, Gilles Simon beat Frederico Gil of Portugal 6-3 6-0 and next plays Tipsarevic, while his French countryman Julien Benneteau will meet Andy Murray in the third round after defeating Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-4 6-3.