Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troicki renewed their doubles partnership on Monday with a 7-5, 6-3 victory against Gilles Muller and Gilles Simon at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. The Serbians won almost 70 per cent of their service points in the 76-minute win. They’ll next meet top seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers.

Tommy Haas and Treat Huey prevailed past the French pairing of Julien Benneteau and Lucas Pouille 4-6, 6-4, 10-8. Haas/Huey will face third seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares in the second round.

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The French team of Benoit Paire and Edouard Roger-Vasselin had better luck, though, beating Grigor Dimitrov and Nenad Zimonjic 6-4, 1-6, 10-3. They’ll next face sixth seeds Marcel Granollers and Ivan Dodig.

Romanian Florin Mergea and Pakistani Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi swept Marin Cilic and Philipp Petzschner 6-4, 6-4. Mergea/Qureshi will meet seventh seeds Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez in the round of 16.

Ninth seed Tomas Berdych survived a scare on Monday when he fought past qualifier Andrey Kuznetsov, currently No. 78 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the final match of the day at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. Berdych goes on to face Benoit Paire or 39-year-old Tommy Haas, the oldest player in the draw, for a place in the third round.

Berdych, who is playing at the Monte-Carlo Country Club for the 13th time in the past 14 years, drew on his big-match experience to prevent Kuznetsov recording one of the biggest wins of his career. The 2005 finalist required two hours for his 14th match win of the season.

Having survived one break point in the first set, Kuznetsov broke Berdych to love for a 4-3 advantage courtesy of his rock-solid backhand. While Berdych came through a 20-point hold for 3-2 in the second set, he immediately grew in confidence to break Kuznetsov for the first time. The 31-year-old Czech went on to fire a backhand winner down the line in the third game of the decider to break Kuznetsov, who is now 0-3 lifetime at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.

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The Russian, who had earned his place in the main draw by beating former World No. 4 Mikhail Youzhny 7-6(5) in a third set tie-break on Sunday, had Top 10 wins over David Ferrer (2014 Wimbledon) and Stan Wawrinka (2016 Miami) to his name. Berdych had previously beaten Kuznetsov 7-6(4) in a deciding set tie-break in St. Petersburg last year.

Elsewhere, Pablo Cuevas, who captured his third straight Sao Paulo title in March, cruised past 2011 quarter-finalist Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-0 in 78 minutes to break a three-match losing streak against the Serbian.

Undefeated Aljaz Bedene is experiencing a hot-streak of results on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2017, prevailing past all 15 opponents in his path. On Sunday the Brit maintained his success by clinching the Open Citta Della Disfida in Barletta, Italy, for his tour-leading third Challenger trophy of 2017.

The 7-6(4), 6-3 triumph over top seed Gastao Elias backed up his Verrazzano Open title win in France last weekend and improved his impressive record to 14-2 in Challenger finals.

“I am really pleased with the way I played the last two weeks. I have worked hard to get here,” said Bedene. “I stick to my game plan every match, my level of tennis has been consistent this year and I am trying to stay disciplined through every match, and that has brought me success on this level in 2017.”

Playing as second seed in Barletta, Bedene dropped just one set on course to lifting the trophy, adding to his 2011 and 2012 titles at the Open Citta Della Disfida. The Mediterranean country clearly appeals to Bedene, who has now accumulated seven Challenger titles in Italy.

Boom! @AljazBedene wins a second @ATPChallenger ? in a row after beating Elias 7-6, 6-3 in Barletta! #BackTheBrits ????? pic.twitter.com/EtXVDahUPD

— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) 16 April 2017

“I wouldn’t say it’s just Barletta, I am generally very successful in Italy,” joked Bedene. “I love how much the people love tennis here and of course I love the food. However, Barletta was my first Challenger title (2011), so it will always be a special one for me, different to any other.”

A renewed focus and plenty of endeavour have reaped reward for Bedene, but the 27-year-old signals out some misfortune en route to securing the BMW of Dallas Irving Tennis Classic last month for sparking his recent upturn in form.

“It didn’t start well in Irving, I twisted my foot on the Monday and played that tournament injured, but I fought really well there, which I am very proud of,” revealed Bedene. “I think I was playing well at the beginning of the year, lost some tough battles, but I think that foot sprain in Irving changed many things. I showed myself I can play if I stay disciplined, which wasn’t the case in the previous years.”

Bedene has frequently been able to practise and confide in World No. 1 Andy Murray, who was present at the Verrazzano Open to present his countryman with the trophy at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy. Murray’s relentless work ethic has inspired a change in perspective for Bedene.

“Every time I practise with Andy I learned something,” said the 27-year-old. “Just watching him play is very encouraging, he is a very hard worker and sometimes I can’t believe how hard is he working. He’s a pleasure to watch really.”

Back in November 2015 and Bedene was playing at a career-high ranking of No. 45 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. His fortnight of double Challenger titles has seen the Brit surge up 24 places to No. 69, but the Londoner is intent on building on his momentum to reach his season target of being seeded at Grand Slams.

“I have big goals for 2017, to reach the top 32 and to keep enjoying playing the game, I am playing good tennis, changed a few things in my tennis so let’s see what happens,” said Bedene. “I am enjoying it so far. I am playing great tennis at the moment, feeling fit and ready, so if I stay focused on the tasks I have to do, I will be back where I want to be.”

#NextGenATP German Alexander Zverev silenced a pro-Andreas Seppi crowd on Monday with a memorable display of power and touch to oust the experienced Italian 6-1, 6-2 in 68 minutes at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.

Zverev, the No. 14 seed, saved one break point and broke three times in the 27-minute opening set under sun-kissed skies, executing a number of fine drop shot winners from the baseline. Wild card Seppi held his nerve in a 16-point service hold for 1-1 in the second set of their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting. Zverev broke Seppi in the sixth and eighth games for his 12th match win of the year, which includes the Open Sud de France crown (d. Gasquet).

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World No. 20 Zverev, who leads the Emirates ATP Race To Milan, goes on to face Feliciano Lopez or fellow #NextGenATP and Aircel Chennai Open finalist Daniil Medvedev in the second round.

Elsewhere, 22-year-old Kyle Edmund won an all-British battle against Daniel Evans 7-5, 6-1 in 80 minutes on Court des Princes. Edmund will next challenge fourth seed and nine-time champion Rafael Nadal, who has a 58-4 record at the event.

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#NextGenATP player Borna Coric has risen 30 places to return to the Top 50 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. The 20 year old clinched his first ATP World Tour title on Sunday at the Grand Prix Hassan II following a remarkable final in Marrakech against third seed Philipp Kohlschreiber. Coric, now ranked at World No. 49, stormed back from a break down in both the second and third sets, before staving off five championship points in the 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-5 triumph.

Coric now stands second in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan and is a strong contender to qualify for the inaugural #NextGenATP Finals in November. Read Marrakech Final Report.

Steve Johnson has moved up four places to No. 25 in the rankings following his title triumph on home soil in Houston at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. The fighting 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5) victory over Thomaz Bellucci in Sunday’s final captured Johnson’s second ATP World Tour singles title, with his maiden trophy coming in June 2016 on the grass court of Nottingham. The 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points edged Johnson closer to his career-high position of No. 21. Read Houston Final Report.

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Bellucci has been rewarded for his determined run in Houston by moving up 12 places to World No.53 in the rankings. The Brazilian won four three-set matches en route to the final, but he was narrowly edged from claiming his fifth ATP World Tour title and first since Geneva in May 2015.

Stellar performances on the ATP Challenger Tour have continued Aljaz Bedene’s sharp rise up the rankings. The Brit moves up seven places to No. 69 courtesy of a tour-leading third Challenger title in 2017. The 27 year old won 7-6(4), 6-3 against top seed Gastao Elias to land his third Open Citta Della Disfida trophy to remain undefeated in 15 ATP Challenger Tour matches this season.

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Ernesto Escobedo is another #NextGenATP player on the rise. The American launched up 18 places up to No. 73 in the latest rankings on Monday. The 20 year old reached his first ATP World Tour semi-final in Houston (l. Bellucci), prevailing in a three-hour, three tie-break marathon quarter-final against second seed John Isner. Escobedo was ranked outside of the Top 300 just 12 months ago but his strong start to 2017 has moved the American to No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan.

Gastao Elias moves up nine places to World No. 88 having reached his first ATP Challenger Tour final of the season in Barletta (l. Bedene).