Canada's Milos Raonic progressed through to the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters thanks to a 6-1 6-4 victory over Julien Benneteau this afternoon.

The opening set proved to be relatively straightforward for 22-year-old Raonic, who broke his French opponent on two occasions to open up a one-set advantage.

Another break followed early in the second set and despite a more spirited performance from Benneteau, he was unable to prevent the world number 15 from booking his place in the next round.

Benneteau is the second Frenchman to exit the competition today following Gilles Simon's defeat to Roberto Bautista-Agut.

Raonic, on the other hand, will now face either Jarkko Nieminen or Viktor Troicki for a place in round three.