Former tennis champion Stan Wawrinka rolled back the years to outclass Tallon Griekspoor 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 and reach the Monte Carlo Masters' second round on Monday, while Andy Murray's first appearance in the tournament since 2017 ended in a loss to Alex de Minaur.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka, 38, had slipped to the 90th place in the ATP rankings, failing to make past the second round since 2017. After two seasons blighted by injury, he is keen to make up for lost time. 

"Nowadays, each win is important," the oldest man in this year's field said. "Physically I'm doing well and my form is decent enough. I'm capable of beating lots of players. I've just got to play my game."

He will next face world No. 10 American Taylor Fritz.

Murray gained direct entry into the prestigious tournament after several players, including world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and 11-time champion Rafael Nadal, withdrew due to injuries. 

But the former world No. 1 endured a torrid time in a rare appearance in a clay-court tournament due to hip injuries as he lost 6-1 6-3 to Australian De Minaur in 86 minutes.

Also past the first hurdle in this warm-up for the French Open were 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini and Dominic Thiem. Thiem knocked out France's top hope Richard Gasquet 6-1, 6-4, with Danish sixth seed Holger Rune waiting for the 2020 U.S. Open winner in the second round.

Russian qualifier Ivan Gakhov secured a clash with world No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Tuesday after Gakhov edged past American Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (8/6), 2-6, 6-3.

The Serb has not hit a shot since losing his semi-final in Dubai at the start of March to Daniil Medvedev as he had to skip Indian Well and Miami tours in the U.S. due to COVID-19 vaccination status.

The tennis great said he was "motivated" to hit the clay-court season running as he is chasing a third Monte Carlo title and targets a 23rd Grand Slam at Roland Garros.

(With input from agencies)