Federer hit 19 winners to five for Chardy, and made 12 unforced errors to record his 17th victory in 19 matches this year, which includes two ATP World Tour titles.
“I thought Jeremy didn’t serve very well, and I felt good on the return,” said Federer. “So I was in a lot of the service games when he was serving. Then I thought I served well, had a high first serve percentage and was able to control the baseline. On clay, things move ahead very quickly, I must say.”
The 33-year-old Federer, who lost to Chardy at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome last year, was competing for the first time since 22 March, when he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic in Indian Wells.
Federer is competing at the Monte-Carlo Country Club for the 12th time and is looking to finally lay his hands on the winner’s trophy that has so far eluded him. The Basel native was runner-up in 2006-08, losing out to Rafael Nadal each time, and last year was thwarted in the title match by countryman Stan Wawrinka.
Next up for Federer will be Gael Monfils, who defeated Alexandr Dolgopolov. Federer holds a 8-3 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the Frenchman, but lost in straight sets in their most recent meeting this past November in the Davis Cup final.
"The preparation is different; instead of playing just one hour before a match on clay, this time I had 10 days and I'm better prepared," he said. "I feel more confident than I was in Lille.
"Gaël is such a player. He has capacities that other players don't have, physically, also because of his power on the forehand and the backhand. It is a real challenge to play him. Often the problem is not on your own racquet against him."
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