Arevalo/Pavic make winning start

Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic made a winning start at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Sunday when they moved past singles stars Grigor Dimitrov and Sebastian Korda 6-4, 6-4.

The El Salvador-Croatian team won 84 per cent (27/32) of their first-serve points and saved both break points they faced to triumph after 77 minutes. Arevalo and Pavic will next play top seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden.

Earlier this season, Arevalo and Pavic won the title at the ATP 250 hard-court event in Hong Kong.

Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev also advanced, defeating Daniil Medvedev and Roman Safiullin 7-6(1), 6-2.