Stanislas Wawrinka battles past Jiri Vesely at Monte Carlo Masters

Stanislas Wawrinka has recorded a three-set victory over Jiri Vesely to progress through to the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

The former Roland Garros champion is one of the favourites to win the first Masters Series event on clay in 2017, but he was made to work hard by his Czech opponent.

Wawrinka eased through the first set with three breaks of serve, but Vesely nicked the second despite winning just five points on the third seed's serve.

However, it was one-way traffic during the decider as Wawrinka secured another two breaks of serve to claim the win by a 6-2 4-6 6-2 scoreline in 84 minutes.

Wawrinka will play Pablo Cuevas in the last 16.