Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are both having a brilliant moment at the Monte Carlo Masters since they have advanced to the third round, winning in straight sets.

Nadal defeated Thiemo de Bakker from Netherlands in straight sets 6-1, 6-0. This is the first clay tournament that the Spaniard participates in since the French Open last year, where he lost in the quarterfinals against Robin Soderling.

Nadal is coming from a year full of health problems and injuries that left him out of important tournaments like Wimbledon last year, but he has now decided to improve and regain his confidence as the year advances and he keeps on winning matches.

“You can have big victories if you have the small victories before,” Nadal told a news conference before the tournament. “So probably if I don’t have a good result here, in Rome or in Madrid, my chances in Roland Garros or Wimbledon will be for sure less than if I have the good results here in these tournaments.”

The 23-year old Spaniard is looking for his sixth straight Monte Carlo Masters title; he will face German Michael Berrer after he defeated Juan Monaco from Argentina.

Djokovic beat Florent Serra from France 6-2, 6-3 in a match that was, in some moments, complicated for the Serbian; he overcame nine break points and lost his serve once on each set but still was able to win his first match point when Serra's backhand return went wrong. This is the first tournament on clay for the season for Djokovic who is doing his best to enter the final.

Djokovic was involved in a controversy at the beginning of this week when he revealed that he was splitting up with his coach Todd Martin. Martin was hired by the Serbian to work on some aspects of his play along with Djokovic’s long time coach Marian Vajda. They were working specifically on the Serbian’s serve but at the relationship came to an abrupt end.

Djokovic expressed that Martin was a great person with a lot of experience and was trying to teach him everything that he knew, but they didn’t understand each other at the end. Djokovic stated also that the way they were trying to change his serve was leaving him exhausted and with no positive results, which was why he decided to go back to his old style of serve.

Novak will face Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

On the other hand, Andy Murray was ousted in the first round for the second straight tournament; he was defeated 6-2, 6-1 to Phillip Kohlschreiber on a very disastrous match for the Brit in which he wasn’t even the shadow of the player that lost the final of the Australian Open against Roger Federer. Since then, Murray has looked out of shape and not focused on the game since then.

He dropped his serve on five different occasions while playing against Kohlschreiber, who didn’t lose the chance to beat one of the top players of the world.

Murray stated that he didn’t have a good day, but emotionally he was feeling good, he just couldn’t find the court; it has been a little confusing for Murray and for everybody since his way of playing has become a mystery. After reaching the final and coming against Federer, Murray has been losing tournament after tournament.

About the Author

Audrey Nolan has been a prominent writer on daily ATP Tennis Games; sports news and the sportsbetting industry for many exceptional sport web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.