• Monte Carlo Masters

Djokovic and Nadal dominant in Monaco

Top seed Novak Djokovic made comfortable progress at the Monte Carlo Masters as he breezed past Florent Serra 6-2 6-3 in the second round.

Despite his split on Monday from coach Todd Martin, Djokovic's game showed no sign of disruption as he dominated the first set. Although Djokovic's serve was not firing - he conceded seven break points - he was able to work angles during rallies that allowed him to unleash unreachable shots.

The Djokovic serve, which still shows the influence of Martin's tweaks, was even more fragile in the second set. Serra claimed two breaks, but Djokovic's superiority in the groundstroke battles allowed him to claim four of his own as he exhibited a wide variety in his shots.

Displaying his exemplary game-management, Djokovic reined in Serra with a variety of chips and slices before upping the tempo and blasting winners. He will next face No. 13 seed Stanislas Wawrinka, who defeated Ernests Gulbis 6-1 6-4.

Rafael Nadal was in imperious form as he recorded his 28th successive win at the tournament by defeating qualifier Thiemo De Bakker 6-1 6-0. Nadal fired a barrage of ferocious forehands at his Dutch opponent, who was unable to escape a defensive mindset for the duration of the contest.

Novak Djokovic's serve was shaky at times © Getty Images

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No. 2 seed Nadal has now lost just one game at Monte Carlo in his career as he continues to dominate the men's game on clay. The authoritative performance against De Bakker augurs well for his chances of winning a fifth French Open later this year. Before that, he will face Michael Berrer - conqueror of Juan Monaco - in the next round in Monaco.

Elsewhere in the second round, Juan Carlos Ferrero said his aggressive start was crucial in his 6-3 6-4 win against Benjamin Becker. Ferrero, who faces Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round, showed impeccable timing in both his footwork and shotmaking as he overwhelmed Becker in 80 minutes. "I started very well, hitting a lot of winners from the beginning. I am playing with a lot of confidence, so I'm trying to be very aggressive all the time," No. 9 seed Ferrero said.

David Nalbandian endured an epic three-setter to knock out seventh seed Mikhail Youzhny. After nearly three hours on court, it was the Argentine who triumphed 4-6 6-3 7-6(5) after the deciding set went to a tie-breaker. Nalbandian will now meet Tommy Robredo in round three.

No. 11 seed David Ferrer won 81% of the points on his first serve during his 6-3 6-2 defeat of Andrey Golubev. He will next face Sony Ericsson Open champion Ivan Ljubicic, who saw off the challenge of Michael Llodra with a 6-3 7-6(3) win.

Other winners on Wednesday included Albert Montanes, Ivan Ljubicic and Philipp Petzschner.

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