Rafael Nadal began his Rome Masters defence on Tuesday by coming through a tricky first-round match against former world number one Carlos Moya 6-1 2-6 6-2.
The second seed from Spain led a trio of top players into the second round.
Fourth seed David Nalbandian of Argentina beat Spanish qualifier Fernando Vicente 6-2 3-6 6-3, fifth seed Andy Roddick brushed aside Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-1 6-0.
Russian sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko cruised to a 6-1 6-4 win over Boris Pashanski of Serbia and Montenegro.
