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Ferrero and Nalbandian masterful in Monaco

Juan Carlos Ferrero lost just 12 points on his serve © Getty Images

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Juan Carlos Ferrero sent out an ominous message to the rest of the field as he dominated Marcel Granollers to win 6-0 6-3 in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Ninth seed Ferrero, a two-time winner of the tournament, allied graceful movement around the court to great shot-timing as he overwhelmed his opponent. Granollers showed glimpses of resistance at the beginning of the second set, but he was unable to generate the power in his groundstrokes to evade the nimble Ferrero.

After losing just 12 points on his serve in the match, Ferrero lauded the quality of his delivery. "I served really well," he said. "I played so solidly, there were no mistakes. I started in the second set slower than the first, it cost me two games, but then I started to fight like the first set and I ended up playing very well." Ferrero will next face Benjamin Becker, who defeated Bernard Tomic 6-4 6-2.

David Nalbandian's crosscourt backhand was in scintillating form during his 6-3 6-1 victory against Andreas Beck. World No. 151 Nalbandian, who returned to the sport in February following nine months out with hip and abdominal injuries, looked close to his best form as he exhibited a masterclass of clean striking. Beck was dismissed in 70 minutes by the Argentinean, who next faces No. 7 seed Mikhail Youzhny.

David Ferrer cruised into the second round by producing an exemplary service performance in his 6-2 6-4 defeat of Peter Luczak. World No. 17 Ferrer was accurate with 68% of his first deliveries as he conceded just one break over the course of the 97-minute encounter.

Tomas Berdych continued his impressive start to the year by defeating Feliciano Lopez 6-3 6-1. Tenth seed Berdych, who was a beaten finalist at the Sony Ericsson Open, looked fluid in his movements as he glided across the court with ease.

Despite gusty conditions, Berdych was able to strike the ball cleanly enough to minimise the effects of the wind. "Conditions were extremely tough," he said. "In the end I was playing really good and feeling great. The one big advantage was that I played so well in Miami - I brought a lot of confidence from there so it doesn't matter what surface [I'm playing on]."

Berdych will next face Richard Gasquet, who needed over two hours to edge past Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-2 4-6 6-2. Other first-round winners in Monaco included Ernests Gulbis, Julien Benneteau, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Nicolas Almagro and Andrey Golubev.

In other news, Novak Djokovic - who is competing at Monte Carlo - has split with American coach Todd Martin.

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