Juan Monaco advances to next round

Juan Monaco has advanced to the third round of the Rome Open with a 6-4 6-2 win over Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.

It was the Czech who started the match the better and he broke at 3-2 to move into a commanding 4-2 lead in the opening set.

His Argentine opponent responded, however, to claim two consecutive breaks on his way to the first set.

Monaco dominated the second set from the outset, breaking early on, to eventually secure the win 6-2.