MONTE CARLO, April 19: Rafael Nadal started the defence of his Monte Carlo Masters title by beating local favourite Arnaud Clement 6-4, 6-4 in the first round on Tuesday.

World number two Nadal, making a late start to his claycourt campaign after a foot injury hit his schedule, looked a bit rusty but did enough to register his 37th consecutive win on clay.

Clement, who overcame Nadal in the semifinals of the Marseille Open in February before taking the title, troubled his opponent with an early break in the second set.

Spaniard Nadal then had his right ankle strapped before he fought back to level the set. He broke the Frenchman in the ninth game to serve for the match.

The French Open champion earned two match points and wasted the first before Clement hit a crosscourt backhand wide to bow out after 95 minutes.

“He is a good player. He beat me in Marseille. I hadn't played on clay for a long time and it's difficult to adapt but the result is okay,” said Nadal.

“The injury is no longer a problem.”

He will meet Jean-Rene Lisnard in the second round after the unfancied Monaco resident beat British teenager Andy Murray 4-6, 7-6, 7-5.

Argentine sixth seed and 2004 champion Guillermo Coria started his pursuit of a fourth consecutive final appearance in the principality with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Russia's Mikhail Youzhny.

He will next meet Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, who knocked out Russian Marat Safin.

Former world number one Safin, struggling to recapture his best form after a seven-month injury layoff, slumped to a 6-0, 7-5 defeat.

Safin lost the first eight games and needed 44 minutes to hold serve for the first time.

Spaniard Carlos Moya, who won the tournament and the French Open in 1998, ran out of steam in a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 defeat by Chilean Fernando Gonzalez.Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean, seeded 13th, beat Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 7-6, 6-3.

Tuesday’s results:

First round: Florent Serra (France) bt Paradorn Srichaphan (Thailand) 6-1, 7-5; 4-Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) bt Igor Andreev (Russia) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; 12-Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) bt Carlos Moya (Spain) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1; 8-David Ferrer (Spain) bt Nicolas Massu (Chile) 6-0, 4-6, 6-2; Dominik Hrbaty (Slovakia) bt Daniele Bracciali (Italy) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4; 13-Sebastien Grosjean (France) bt Fernando Verdasco (Spain) 7-6 (8-6), 6-3; Jean-Rene Lisnard (Monaco) bt Andy Murray (Britain) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5; 2-Rafael Nadal (Spain) bt Arnaud Clement (France) 6-4, 6-4; Benjamin Balleret (Monaco) bt Christophe Rochus (Belgium) 6-3, 6-3; Feliciano Lopez (Spain) bt Victor Hanescu (Romania) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2); Gilles Simon (France) bt Teimuraz Gabashvili (Russia) 6-4, 6-2; Paul-Henri Mathieu (France) bt Marat Safin (Russia) 6-0, 7-5; Potito Starace (Italy) bt Nicolas Mahut (France) 7-6 (7-2), 6-2; Robin Soederling (Sweden) bt 5-Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4; 6-Guillermo Coria (Argentina) bt Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) 6-3, 6-1; 16-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) bt Fabrice Santoro (France) 6-2, 6-1. —Reuters