Rafael Nadal had defeated Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the French Open and then he progressed to the final after Alexander Zverev was forced to retire midway during the semi-final.

It was announced in December that Ivan Ljubicic, a former world number three, would be hired in a move widely interpreted as Roger Federer trying to find a way to defeat a dominant Novak Djokovic

The 31st-ranked American, who is seeded sixth in Metz, got off to a slow start but managed to force a tiebreaker in the second set and pull through in the only first round match of the day.

Tsonga, currently number eight in the ATP world rankings, suffered a left knee injury during Wimbledon that forced him to withdraw.

Top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France began the defense of his Moselle Open title with a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 win against countryman Clement Reix in the second round on Wednesday.

American James Blake beat French wild-card Albano Olivetti 6-2, 7-6 (4) on Monday despite giving up 19 aces in the first round of the Moselle Open.

Rafael Nadal won an unprecedented eighth straight title at the Monte Carlo Masters on Sunday, defeating Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-1.

Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek were routed 2-6, 0-6 by top seeds Mike and Bob Bryan as the Indian challenge ended at the ATP Monte Carlo Masters, here.

Novak Djokovic dropped serve four times before beating Robin Haase 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Monte Carlo Masters semifinal on Friday, and admitted afterward that his thoughts were still very much elsewhere.

Second seed Rafael Nadal continued the quest for an eighth straight title at the Monte Carlo Masters as he dispatched Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 6-1, 6-1 in exactly one hour.