Novak Djokovic began his bid to hold on to his number one ranking with a 6-3 6-4 win over Luxembourg's Gilles Muller in the Paris Masters second round while Andy Murray struggled through on Wednesday.
Serb Djokovic, who could be dethroned from the top spot by Wimbledon champion Murray this week, broke Muller once in each set to secure a drama-free victory.
The 29-year-old will hold on to his ranking if he reaches the final in Paris.
"I try to focus on playing match after match and putting quality and value into my game. I know that if that's the case, then I can challenge anybody on the world in any surface, in any conditions," Djokovic said.
"So I do focus on my own quality. And what I brought to the court the last couple of months has been quite up and down ... but I'm quite pleased with the way things went on the court today. That's all I'm going to focus on."
It went less smoothly for Murray, who overcame a second-set blip to down Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-3 6-7(5) 7-5.
Murray strolled through the opening set but lost his focus in the second, netting a backhand to allow Verdasco to level the match.
The Scot, however, recovered quickly, breaking to open a 2-0 lead in the decider, only for his opponent to break back and set up two break points at 5-5.
Murray saved both and ended the contest on his first match point in the following game.
Japan's Kei Nishikori cruised into the third round with a 6-2 7-5 win over Serbian Viktor Troicki as the race for places at the ATP Tour Finals gathered pace.
The fifth seed, one of six players to have already qualified for the season-ending finals in London, breezed through the first set and quickly broke in the second.
A lapse in concentration by the Japanese, however, allowed world No.28 Troicki to break back but Nishikori broke again to end the contest in straight sets.
He will next face either local favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 11th seed, or Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain.
Croatian Marin Cilic set up a third-round clash with Belgium's David Goffin as both battle for one of two remaining spots for the November 13-20 ATP event at the 02.
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