Intro:

Wins for Radek Stepanek, Fabio Fognini and Albert Montanes on the opening day of the Monte Carlo Masters on Monday (14th April).

Script:

The opening round of the Monte Carlo Masters got underway on Monday.

Two veterans of the ATP tour, Radek Stepanek and Ivo Karlovic, faced each other in their first round match.

Stepanek made a superb start as Karlovic struggled to get into the game, and it was over all too soon - the Czech player taking a clinical 6-1, 6-2 win to book his place in the second round.

10th seed Fabio Fognini made harder work of his first round match-up with Joao Sousa of Portugal.

Fognini was under significant pressure from the start.

He lost the opening set 7-5 and at one stage trailed by 5-2, 30-0 in the second.

But he fought back from there, surviving the scare before completing a 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 victory to reach the second round.

Spaniard Albert Montanes was also taken to three sets in his opening match.

He faded after a promising start with French opponent Benoit Paire, taking the second set 6-4 to force the match into a decider.

But Montanes rallied from there, converting an emphatic 4-0 lead into a 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 win to book his place in the next round.