Andy Murray [ Images ] overcame a sluggish start to reach the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Romania's Victor Hanescu on a bad Tuesday for French players.

The fourth-seeded Briton was 2-1 down in the opening set after dropping serve in the third game but he woke up to take four games in a row. He clinched victory when Hanescu netted a forehand on the fourth match point.

Murray, who has already won three titles this year, next faces Croatian 14th seed Marin Cilic [ Images ] or Italian Fabio Fognini, a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 winner against Czech Tomas Berdych, for a berth in the quarter-finals.

"It takes time (to adjust). I never played that well on clay, especially in the last couple of years," Murray said in a courtside interview.

"I played solid and he made some mistakes. I am happy with the way I played given that it was my first match on clay this season."

Earlier, world number seven Gilles Simon produced an awful performance against German qualifier Andreas Beck, going down 7-5, 6-1 in a second-round match.

Simon, seeded sixth, had a first-round bye and never found his pace against Beck, who had already beaten compatriot Nicolas Kiefer [ Images ] on Monday.

"Winning the first round was good but winning today is simply fantastic," Beck told a courtside interviewer.

"I don't remember ever playing so badly," Simon told reporters.

"Nothing was right. Nothing was working. My forehand, my backhand, my serve, nothing. I believe this match is a record."

Beck will face either Spanish 11th seed Tommy Robredo [ Images ] or Argentine Juan Monaco for a place in the last eight.

Two other Frenchmen were sent packing after losing in the first round.

Ninth seed Gael Monfils was beaten 6-3, 6-1 by Serb Janko Tipsarevic [ Images ], who allowed him to pick up only 12 points in the second set and set up a second-round encounter with Italian Simone Bolelli.

Paul-Henri Mathieu snatched a set from 12th seed David Nalbandian [ Images ] of Argentina but eventually lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.