Heading into the Rome Masters 1000 tournament, one of the leading questions concerned the fitness of Novak Djokovic. When in peak form, the world No. 2 ranks as Rafael Nadal's leading challenger at Roland Garros, but a concerning wrist injury at Monte Carlo sidelined him in Madrid and seemed to imperil the rest of his clay hopes. Djokovic's fans were encouraged to see him practice early this week in Rome without visible attention to his wrist, and they must have felt even more encouraged after his comfortable opening-round win there.

A former top-10 player, Radek Stepanek has earned more notable exploits in doubles than singles over the last several years. He has proved a thorn in Djokovic's side at some key tournaments, however, extending the Serb to five sets at the US Open on one occasion and winning a set from him at Wimbledon on another. Still, Djokovic had won their last eight meetings, and a slow surface like the clay in Rome would prove an ally against the fast-court game of his opponent. He dropped serve three times while showing signs of rust, but he earned 11 break points on the Stepanek serve and converted five. The Czech veteran also did not help his own cause with seven double faults as he won barely a quarter of his second-serve points.

That generally routine victory was surpassed by the efficiency with which world No. 3 Stanislas Wawrinka demolished his first opponent in Rome. The Australian Open and Monte Carlo champion had arrived in the Eternal City after losing his opening match in Madrid, so he would have felt both fresh and especially determined to avoid a similar result. After a first-set bagel lasting just 19 minutes, few doubts remained that another misadventure would befall Wawrinka. On the other hand, he had won a 6-1 first set in Madrid before falling to Dominic Thiem, so his efficient closure of Pere Riba in barely 50 minutes impressed. Wawrinka opened his Monte Carlo campaign in equally blistering form, which suggests that his brisk start here bodes well for a deep run.

While Wawrinka turned around his momentum from last week, two top-10 women could not do the same. Both Dominika Cibulkova and Angelique Kerber had dropped their opening-round matches in Madrid, and they also exited the Foro Italico without a victory. Cibulkova fell in straight sets to Italian wildcard Camila Giorgi, who came within a point of winning her first career title this spring. Giorgi's high-risk, ultra-aggressive playing style seems poorly suited for clay, but she proved her ability to topple elite opponents by defeating Maria Sharapova at Indian Wells in March. She overcame nine double faults and a first-serve percentage of barely 50 percent to hammer past Cibulkova in two tight sets that lasted just under two hours.

Perhaps less surprising was the loss suffered by Angelique Kerber, who, unlike Cibulkova, counts clay as her least proficient surface. Kerber claimed a close first set from qualifier Petra Cetkovska but let the lead slip away as she lost her opening match for the fifth time in her last six tournaments. The world No. 9 faced a staggering 24 break points, 13 alone in the second set when Cetkovska turned around the match. While Kerber showed grit in erasing 15 of those chances, the relentless pressure on her serve told when she served to stay in the match at 4-5 in the third set.

Claiming the match-ending break at that stage, Cetkovska became one of several qualifiers who advanced in Rome on Tuesday. Also among them was Swiss teenager and junior No. 1 Belinda Bencic, who battled past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets. Christina McHale, who took a set off eventual champion Sharapova in Madrid, notched a notable win as well by fending off an opponent more accomplished on clay in Sorana Cirstea. 

Perhaps drained by their exertions last week, the men who generated unexpected headlines in Madrid exited without drama in Rome. Kei Nishikori withdrew from the draw, as many expected following his back injury in the Madrid final. Surprise semifinalist Roberto Bautista Agut collected just six games from Dmitry Tursunov, who has been dormant for most of this season and rarely advanced deep into clay events. After defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray in Madrid, Barcelona runner-up Santiago Giraldo retired early in the second set of his Rome opener. These events were hardly surprising, albeit disappointing, and they hint that Rome might unfold in a more familiar fashion for a Masters 1000 event than its predecessor did.