Second seed Roger Federer progressed to the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters after mauling Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2 6-1.

The world number three, who was elevated to second seed after Novak Djokovic withdrew from the tournament with an injury, seemed in determined mood to prove he remains a major force in World tennis, and his German opponent bore the brunt of it. It took only 50 minutes for Federer to wrap up proceedings after his fifth ace of the match.

Federer broke Kohlschreiber early in each set to set himself in line for an easy win and he will now face either Marin Cilic or the winner of the tie between Pere Riba and Potito Starace.

I managed to vary the game well and not make too many mistakes, said Federer. I was able to do all the things I was hoping to. I was consistent; consistently dangerous, too. I felt well in the offence, and in the defence I was fine.

On Kohlschreiber, who he trained with last summer, he said, I think he can play a lot better than he did today. Sometimes there are opponents it works really well against. Others, you realise you have to work the point differently. I know how good Philipp is and how heavy his ball actually is. I was actually quite surprised I was having no problems with his serve.

With world number one Rafael Nadal beginning his campaign on Wednesday, Federer said, He's clearly the overwhelming favourite for this tournament. Look, we all know how good Rafa is on this surface. He rarely struggles against guys out of the top 20.