Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael NadalWorld number one Rafael Nadal began the defence of his Monte Carlo Masters crown with an emphatic second-round victory over Finland's Jarkko Nieminen.
The Spaniard, who received a bye in the first round, won 6-2 6-2 in just over an hour.
It was a powerful display of hitting from the 24-year-old, who cruised to the title here a year ago.
Nadal next plays Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-2 6-1 on Wednesday.
He still tops the world rankings despite the fact that his last title win was the Japan Open in October.
Since then he has lost to Roger Federer in the final of the ATP World Tour Finals, and suffered consecutive defeats by world number two Novak Djokovic in the recent Masters finals at the BNP Paribas Open and the Sony Ericsson Open.
