Andy Murray returned to ATP Tour action with a straight-sets victory before Rafael Nadal held off Kyle Edmund's fightback to advance at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

Seeded first and fourth respectively, Murray and Nadal enjoyed first-round byes in Monte Carlo, entering the draw in round two on Wednesday.

It was Murray's first competitive venture back on court since early March following an elbow injury and he made a sluggish start before defeating Gilles Muller 7-5 7-5.

"I definitely played better as the match went on," said Murray. "Obviously the first service game was not ideal.

"But when you are coming back from not really serving for a few weeks, it's I think normal. Maybe [my] technique changed a little bit. You get into the match, and it's tricky.

"I've done a decent amount of training. Obviously playing matches is the biggest test. Apart from serving and a few returns, I moved pretty good. I played some smart shots. I was quite happy with how I hit the ball. I was timing it very clean during the points. My body felt pretty good."

Defending champion Nadal was next on Court Rainier III after Murray and the nine-time winner began in blistering fashion with a first-set bagel of his opponent. Edmund fought back to force a decider, but Nadal got the better of a topsy-turvy encounter to prevail 6-0 5-7 6-3.

The Spaniard will meet Alexander Zverev, who defeated Feliciano Lopez, while Murray goes up against Albert Ramos Vinolas, who ousted Carlos Berlocq.

Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych, Marin Cilic and Dominic Thiem were also among Wednesday's winners in the singles draw, while eighth seed Grigor Dimitrov was dumped out by Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6 6-3 6-2.

Second seed Novak Djokovic, whose place in the third round was already secure, lost out in doubles action alongside Viktor Troicki, 6-3 6-4 to Henri Kontinen and John Peers.