Rafael Nadal's hitting partner Juan Monaco walked past Tobias Kamke of Germany on Thursday, as the Argentine looked in sublime touch.

World No.14 Juan Monaco's always quite the player on clay. He has been seeded second at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, making quick work of German Tobias Kamke as he won 6-2,6-3.

"Today I thought I played very well from the beginning," said Monaco. "I was able to take all the opportunities I made so I’m happy. I’m trying to go day-by-day. I’m playing very well and in perfect shape. But every match is different and complicated, so we’ll see how far I go."

The Argentine was just broken once in the entire match and has a win-loss record of 24-9 this season now. Monaco has had a good year so far with two titles under his belt already.

Former World No.21 Thomaz Bellucci ousted Australian Bernard Tomic in two sets. Tomic's poor run continued with him losing in the first round of four straight events now. The match was a one hour forty seven minute thriller.

"It was very tough," said Bellucci. "At the beginning of the match I was a little bit nervous. When I was 1-4 down, I started to play better and in the second set I was feeling more comfortable and more confident."

Southpaw Bellucci had put in a good show at Wimbledon against then No.2 Rafael Nadal, before Nadal took it up a notch to win in three sets. He is also coming off an ATP Challenger win in Braunschweig.