Top three seeds Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal all made winning starts at the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday.
World number one Djokovic said he was pleased to have passed a huge test on his injured right ankle following a 4-6 6-1 6-4 defeat of Russian Mikhail Youzhny.
Djokovic admitted that at one point in the second set he felt some pain but played through it successfully, thanks in part to his heavy strappings.
Second seed Murray posted an uneventful 6-1 6-4 win over Frenchman Eduardo Roger-Vasselin, while Nadal began his favourite part of the year and a quest for a ninth straight title here with a 6-1 6-2 defeat of Australian Marinko Matosevic.
Djokovic had waited until the last minute to make his decision on whether he could compete, having rolled his ankle on Davis Cup duty 10 days ago. He earned a late break for 5-4 in the final set as Youzhny missed a drop shot, before serving out the match.
“I think that my ankle is in a good state as the days are passing by,” said the winner. “Today was a big test, I had a great quality opponent.”
Nadal was totally in his comfort zone on another sunny, warm day on the Mediterranean, demolishing the Australian in 62 minutes.
“I played well with the right feelings and doing the right things, so I’m very happy,” he said. “I had the right intensity, with no mistakes.
“I was trying to find a good feeling on the ball, to find the right rhythm. And I think I did, no? That gives me confidence.”
Elsewhere in the second round, Czech Tomas Berdych began his clay season with a defeat of Spain’s Marcel Granollers 7-5 6-4.
Croatian Marin Cilic put out South African Kevin Anderson 6-2 6-3, while Austrian Jurgen Melzer upset Spanish 10th seed Nicolas Almagro 6-4 6-2 and veteran Finn Jarkko Nieminen upset Canadian 12th seed Milos Raonic 6-3 1-6 7-6 (7-3).