Apr 22, 2008, 16:21 GMT
Monte Carlo - Novak Djokovic buried the nerves associated with playing a friend as he took emotion off the table to earn a 6-3, 6-3 opening defeat of Ivan Ljubicic on Tuesday at the Monte Carlo Masters.
'Personally we have great relations off the court, as well on the court. We practised a lot, that's one of the reasons I had a bit nervous start,' confessed Australian Open winner Djokovic of his more senior Croatian opponent.
'In the end I came up with a straight-sets win, which is very important for me on the start of the clay court season,' said the third seed.
'Even though I faced a lot of break points, I think I played the best tennis in the most important moments, and that's what matters actually most.'
Ljubicic had won their only previous match in Zagreb indoors last year.
Djokovic moved into the third round after a bye as top seed Roger Federer and three-time champion Rafael Nadal open play on Wednesday as the pre-Roland Garros run of tournaments hits full stride.
The Serb will square off on Thursday against one of his own young rivals in Andy Murray after the Scot seeded 14th stopped Filippo Volandri 6-4, 6-1.
Murray lost his last match to the Italian last May in Hamburg, suffering a wrist injury which kept him out of the game for half a season.
'It felt like just another match,' said Murray. 'I knew he would be tough. He doesn't have a great serve but he doesn't make a lot of mistakes form the backcourt.
'I had to adapt my game to his.'
Undiluted Spanish clay-courter Rueben Ramirez Hidalgo will provide the first test for Federer as the pair meet on Wednesday.
The challenger, ranked a modest 137, booked his place against last weekend's world number one Estoril winner as he defeated Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-1, 6-1.
The Iberian is totally at home on the dirt, having won just four of 25 matches on other surfaces since 2003, and last playing on a hardcourt at the US Open last summer.
Federer has been bearing down on training with trial coach Jose Higueras since jetting into the principality on Sunday night just hours after winning his first title of the season on the Estoril clay.
Federer's past four seasons have been the nearest thing to mistake-free until he fell victim to glandular fever before the Australian Open and crashed out in the semi-finals
He went to Estoril with doubts over his future as a tennis dominator, which he promptly dispatched by lifting his 54th title.
Lower seeds advanced on a sunny, if chilly day, with number 11 Juan Monaco hammering Lee Hyung-taik of South Korea 6-0, 7-5 and Spanish number 12 Tommy Robredo rediscovering his form a week after a breakthrough semi-final at the expense of Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 7-5.
Croatian Ivo Karlovic, the number 15, eliminated Sebastien Grosjean 4-6, 6-4, 4-1 as the former French tennis hero retired injured.
Finn Jarkko Nieminen earned his first ATP win since January, ending a run of eight defeats as he crushed Marc Gicquel 6-0, 6-4. Popular Russian Marat Safin reached the second round over Belgian Xavier Malisse 6-3, 6-2.
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