Novak Djokovic has advanced to the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters after recording a comfortable 6-0 6-1 win over Dusan Lajovic to whet appetites for a potential showdown against Rafael Nadal.
The victory will not rank among his greatest, but it was no doubt a reaffirming afternoon for former world No.1 Djokovic, who was smarting from three successive losses and seems to have found some of his lethal form once more.
Despite some near-misses and the occasional cooked shot, Djokovic looked a changed man to the player that succumbed to uncharacteristic early defeats in Miami and Indian Wells earlier this year.
"I've had a very difficult time in the last 12 months with the injury and everything else that's happened," Djokovic said. "I'm lacking matches and a bit of confidence on court, but I'm looking ahead."
Djokovic's next game, where he will face 39th-ranked Borna Coric will likely be less straightforward, but the last time they met on clay was at the Madrid Masters in 2016, a tie that the 30-year-old Serb won convincingly in two sets.
Kei Nishikori was meanwhile forced to dig deep to take a 4-6 6-2 6-1 victory over 12th seed Tomas Berdych.
Last year's runner-up Albert Ramos-Vinolas beat American Jared Donaldson 6-3 6-3 in a match marred by a heated argument between the 21-year-old Donaldson and the chair umpire over what he thought was an erroneous call.
Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain beat Germany's Peter Gojowczyk 6-4 6-3.
Milos Raonic avoided a boilover after dropping the first set to local hope and world No.365 Lucas Catarina, fighting back to win 3-6 6-2 6-3.
