Novak Djokovic got his clay court season off to a winning start with a victory over Andreas Seppi at the Monte Carlo Masters this afternoon.
The world number one began the encounter brightly by claiming an early break from his Italian opponent.
Djokovic continued to dominate as he went on to win the set 6-1 in little over 30 minutes.
The Serbian recorded another early break of serve in the second set as the tie looked to be heading away from Seppi.
However, the 28-year-old battled hard to hold his serve in his next three service games, saving several break points in the process to keep in contention with Djokovic.
Despite his efforts, Seppi was unable to find the break that he required as Djokovic served out to win the match 6-1 6-4.
In the next round Djokovic will take on Alexandr Dolgopolov, who defeated Bernard Tomic earlier today.