Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2016: Monday Tennis Scores, Results, Updated Schedule
While the biggest names on the ATP World Tour weren't in play on Monday at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, a number of seeded players advanced on the day, setting up some intriguing potential matchups down the road.
Below, we'll take a look at Monday's results and break down a few of the big names set to take the court on Tuesday.
Monday
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| No. 9 Richard Gasquet | 6-4, 6-0 | Nicolas Almagro |
| No. 10 Milos Raonic | 6-3, 7-5 | Marco Cecchinato |
| No. 12 Dominic Thiem | 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 | Jan-Lennard Struff |
| No. 13 Gael Monfils | 7-5, 6-0 | Gilles Muller |
| No. 14 Roberto Bautista Agut | 6-4, 7-6 | Albert Ramos-Vinolas |
| No. 16 Benoit Paire | 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 | Inigo Cervantes |
| Aljaz Bedene | 6-2, 6-3 | Lukas Rosol |
| Pablo Carreno Busta | 6-3, 6-1 | Stephane Robert |
| Grigor Dimitrov | 6-3, 6-2 | Filip Krajinovic |
| Guillermo Garcia-Lopez | 7-5, 6-1 | Thomaz Bellucci |
| Pierre-Hugues Herbert | 6-3, 6-4 | Guido Pella |
| Lucas Pouille | 7-6, 6-3 | Nicolas Mahut |
| Alexander Zverev | 6-1, 6-3 | Andrey Rublev |
Monday's results were all chalk, as the top six seeds in play all advanced, led by No. 9 Richard Gasquet's relatively uneventful dismissal of Nicolas Almagro. The French fans were pleased with that result, as they were with No. 13 Gael Monfils advancing over Gilles Muller after falling behind in the first set, 2-5.
Monfils promptly won the match's next 11 sets to earn the win. Afterward, Monfils spoke about his victory, per the ATP World Tour's official website:
"It was just a break down, 5-2, one break on clay. Of course, on hard courts it would have been more complicated. But on clay... He made two double-faults.
So during that first set I didn't return well, but I was able to improve. I believe I played quite well. Little by little I was able to get used to the court and I was able to play a bit higher, not always deep enough, but I was able to find the right angles to make him move. He was not running too well on clay, I thought.
I played a solid match. It was not a great match, but it was a solid game.
"
No. 16 Benoit Paire completed the French sweep for the ranked players in action on Monday, winning a tough match over Inigo Cervantes that required a comeback after he dropped the first set and a tiebreaker in the third set to seal the win.
Paire's bend-but-don't-break approach on Monday—he only allowed Cervantes to convert three of a possible 14 break points—was the match's deciding factor.
No. 10 Milos Raonic used 13 aces to advance to the next round over Marco Cecchinato, winning in straight sets despite Cecchinato forcing a 7-5 second set.
"I let myself fall into a little bit too much of a defensive pattern where I was playing a little too far back," Raonic said, per Jerome Pugmire of the Associated Press (via ABC News). "It didn't allow me to use my game to dictate. I was a little bit more reactive rather than proactive."
No. 12 Dominic Thiem had to overcome a brutal 1-6 opening round to get past Jan-Lennard Struff, overcoming Struff's strong serve (10 aces, 83 percent of first-service points won) to earn the win. Meanwhile, No. 14 Roberto Bautista Agut needed a second-set tiebreaker to get past Albert Ramos-Vinolas in a battle of the Spaniards.
Lukas Rosol and Nicolas Mahut were among the casualties in first-round play.
Tuesday
| Court Rainer III | 5 a.m. | No. 15 Gilles Simon vs. Grigor Dimitrov |
| Court Rainer III | Following Simon-Dimitrov | No. 2 Andy Murray vs. Pierre-Hugues Herbert |
| Court Rainer III | Following Murray-Herbert | No. 3 Roger Federer vs. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez |
| Court Rainer III | Following Federer-Garcia-Lopez | No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Pablo Carreno Busta |
| Court Des Princes | 5 a.m. | Daniel Gimeno-Traver vs. Pablo Cuevas |
| Court Des Princes | Following Gimeno-Traver-Cuevas | No. 11 David Goffin vs. Feliciano Lopez |
| Court Des Princes | Following Goffin-Lopez | Fabio Fognini vs. Paolo Lorenzi |
| Court Des Princes | Following Fognini-Lorenzi | No. 14 Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Jeremy Chardy |
| Court 2 | 5 a.m. | Jiri Vesely vs. Teymuraz Gabashvili |
| Court 2 | Following Vesely-Gabashvili | Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. Borna Coric |
| Court 2 | Following Kohlschreiber-Coric | Fernando Verdasco vs. Federico Delbonis |
| Court 9 | 5 a.m. | Ivo Karlovic vs. Joao Sousa |
| Court 9 | Following Karlovic-Sousa | Robin Haase vs. Damir Dzumhur |
| Court 9 | Following Haase-Dzumhur | Adrian Mannarino vs. Taro Daniel |
Several of the top players in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters will be in play on Tuesday, with No. 2 Andy Murray, No. 3 Roger Federer and No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga kicking off their tournaments. Defending champion and No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic will get underway on Wednesday, while No. 5 Rafael Nadal has yet to get underway as well.
Monte Carlo is one of the key tournaments for players on the road to the French Open and will have particular significance for players like Djokovic and Nadal. For the Djoker, the tournament is the first step on what he hopes will become his first triumph at Roland Garros.
For Nadal, it's the chance to regain form at a tournament he's won eight times and to regain his dominance during the stretch of the ATP Tour calendar that has traditionally been Nadal's to lose. Those days are starting to feel like more of a memory, but a strong showing this week could change that.
All stats via ATPWorldTour.com. You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.
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