MONACO: Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal extended his Monte Carlo Masters winning streak to 43 matches and top-ranked Novak Djokovic was relieved to see his right ankle hold firm yesterday as both reached the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Nadal beat Marinko Matosevic 6-1, 6-2, but Djokovic spent twice as long on court against Mikhail Youzhny before beating the Russian 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in 2 hours, 15 minutes.

Djokovic twisted his ankle while playing for Serbia in the Davis Cup on April 7, and was not sure if he would be able to play in Monte Carlo, where he lost in the final last year to Nadal. He looked a bit tentative in the first set but did not appear to be impeded in his movement.

His relief was evident as he bent backwards and lifted both hands in the air after clinching victory on his first match point.

Earlier, Nadal nearly trailed 3-0 in the second set, but he saved two break points before taking control again.

“I played well at the beginning with the right intensity, with no mistakes,” Nadal said.

At first, Matosevic looked unlikely to even win a game. There were ironic cheers from the crowd when he won his first point and the tall Australian threw both arms up in the air — twice — to milk the applause when he won his first game.

The third-seeded Nadal dropped his serve at the start of the second set and Matosevic held for a surprising 2-0 lead, and he even had a chance to go further ahead, but Nadal saved the first break point with a forehand winner down the line and Matosevic sent the next opportunity into the net.

“I didn’t play my best game the first game of the second, and he played well, so he had the break,” Nadal said.

Nadal cut out the wild shots after that and wrapped up victory on his first match point with a pass down the line.

He could even see the funny side of when Matosevic kicked Nadal’s water bottles over at the changeover when trailing 5-2.

“No, was not a pressure moment. Was a funny one,” Nadal said. “Maybe he thought that affects my concentration.”

But Nadal was less jovial when asked to talk about his left knee.

The Spaniard, who played with strapping under his left knee, missed seven months through injury, and since returning in February he has reached four straight finals, winning three.

“Talking more than usual about the knee is not positive for me, is not positive for the opponents, for the tournament, for nobody, no?” Nadal said. “What happened happened.”

Early on, Djokovic appeared reluctant to commit himself to certain shots and trailed 4-0. Although he drew applause on one shot when he sprinted to retrieve a lob and flicked the ball from the back of the court over the head of Youzhny.

Djokovic missed the chance to go 2-0 up in the second set when Youzhny saved two break points. But that was a temporary reprieve for the Russian as Djokovic won the next five games to level the match and quickly moved a break up before holding for 3-1 in the third. He then handed Youzhny a lifeline as the Russian broke back to 3-3.

The Serb missed chances to break back in the next game as Youzhny sent him scurrying around the court with a series of exquisite drop shots and lobs. But he got the break he needed in the ninth as Youzhny’s erratic streak resurfaced and a weak backhand drop shot sailed into the net.

Nadal will face Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in the third round, and Djokovic will play either 14th-seeded Juan Monaco or Ernests Gulbis.

Fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych, ninth-seeded Marin Cilic, No. 13 Stanislas Wawrinka, Jurgen Melzer, Fabio Fognini, Florian Mayer, and Jarkko Nieminen also won.