Rotterdam Open top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime were joined by Daniil Medvedev in progressing through their first-round ties.
Auger-Aliassime won his first Tour-level title at the event last year and went from strength to strength in 2022, winning another three singles trophies.
The world number eight, seeded third, started his title defence with a convincing 6-2 6-3 defeat of Italy's Lorenzo Sonego on Tuesday.
"Of course, I was hoping to win and get through, but 6-2, 6-3 is a great performance against a player that is tricky like he is... it's a great way to start the week," said Auger-Aliassime, who needed just 82 minutes to clinch victory and set up a last-16 meeting with qualifier Gregoire Barrere.
The Canadian is relishing his title defence, and feels he is a stronger competitor than this time last year in a warning shot to his rivals.
He added: "Last year was an amazing year, but this year is a different one. I think I'm a better player overall.
"Of course, the best thing I can do compared to last year is win again, so hopefully I can do that. The draw is really strong, but I'm confident if I can keep playing the way I did today I'll get my chances and then we'll see."
Auger-Aliassime might be the reigning champion, but world number three Tsitsipas is the favourite.
Emil Ruusuvuori was no match for Australian Open runner-up, who prevailed 7-5 6-1 and has a 13-1 record for the season.
"The process that you get to repeat these things over and over again, it gives you tremendous understanding of how things actually work," Tsitsipas said.
"I think being able to get in these moments more and more often on the Tour helps you understand, makes you wiser when you're trying to deal with all these problems."
Tsitsipas, who could face Open Sud de France champion Jannik Sinner in the next round, ensured there would be no curse of the top seed in Rotterdam, where the favourite had lost their first match in two of the last three editions.
On both occasions (2020 and 2021), that was Medvedev, but the former world number one fought from a set down to beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 4-6 6-2 6-2.
World number 10 Hubert Hurkacz also had to battle against a Spaniard in the form of Roberto Bautista Agut. The fifth seed needed three hours to win 7-5 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-4) and tee up an encounter with Grigor Dimitrov.
Alexander Zverev defeated Soonwoo Kwon in straight sets to book his progress, while Gijs Brouwer got the better of Marc-Andrea Huesler.
Osaka makes winning return at Italian Open
Naomi Osaka claimed a straight sets victory over Clara Burel in the first round of the Italian Open.
Making her first appearance in Rome since 2021, former world number one Osaka prevailed 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 on Wednesday, marking her first win over a top-50 opponent on clay since she defeated Victoria Azarenka at Roland Garros in 2019.
Osaka, who is now ranked 173rd in the world by the WTA, will face Marta Kostyuk in the second round.
She previously faced Kostyuk in the 2020 US Open, en route to winning her third major title.
Data Debrief: Back with a bang
Osaka reached the quarter-finals of the Italian Open in 2019, but did not win a game in 2021 and has not appeared at any other edition since then.
That means the 26-year-old won her first match at the event since she beat Mihaela Buzarnescu in 2019 (1,819 days ago). She wrapped up the win in one hour and 24 minutes, finishing with 27 winners, including eight aces.
Winning Olympic medal 'equal to Grand Slams', says Gauff
Coco Gauff believes winning a medal at the forthcoming Paris Olympics would be "equal" to winning a Grand Slam.
The world number three was forced to miss the Games in Tokyo three years ago after testing positive for COVID-19, and is eager to sample the "once-in-a-lifetime experience".
The tennis events will be played on the clay of Roland Garros, where Gauff will be bidding for a second major title at the French Open later this month.
And the reigning US Open champion is looking forward to competing, though she admits her preparations will be unprecedented.
"For me, the Olympics is a top priority. I'd say equal to the Grand Slams," Gauff told reporters at the Italian Open, where she will face Magdalena Frech in the last 64.
"I wouldn't put it above or below just because I've never played before. This is my first time. Obviously, I always want to do well, try to get a medal. But the preparation is going to be interesting, because I've never done the grass to clay transition before.
"I'm not putting too much pressure on it because I really want to fully indulge in the experience. Hopefully, I can have it many times in my lifetime. I'll treat it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
Before that, Gauff is focused on getting ready for the French Open, where she was runner-up to world number one Iga Swiatek two years ago.
The 20-year-old will step up her preparation at the Italian Open this week, aiming to build on her run to the round of 16 at the Madrid Open last time out, where her run was ended by compatriot Madison Keys.
"For me, it's just about serving better than I did last week," she added. "I feel the other parts of my game are improving. If I can work that through, I think it'll set me up for a very good Roland Garros."
Madrid champion Swiatek keen to maintain level at Italian Open
Iga Swiatek will not rest on her laurels after overcoming Aryna Sabalenka in last week's Madrid Open final, pledging to learn from that gruelling battle ahead of the Italian Open.
Swiatek toppled Sabalenka in an enthralling battle between the world's top two players on Saturday, saving three championship points en route to a 7-5 4-6 7-6 (9-7) win in over three hours on court.
The world number one has now won every European clay court tournament at WTA 500 level or higher, including back-to-back triumphs in Rome in 2021 and 2022.
As she prepares to open her Italian Open campaign against either Caroline Dolehide or a qualifier on Friday, Swiatek is determined to ensure she does not let her level drop.
Speaking during an appearance on the WTA Insider Podcast, Swiatek said: "I feel like after such a match, I deserve a two-month vacation, but I can't have that so I'll trade it for six tiramisus or something!
"I can let it go and rest and just forget about it, or I can really take a big lesson from it, so it depends on what is going to happen in the next few weeks in terms of how I analyse it."
Swiatek's latest win – her seventh in 10 meetings with Sabalenka – saw her put further distance between herself and the world number two in the WTA rankings.
However, the four-time grand slam champion knows she cannot afford to let up, given the fierce competition on the WTA tour.
"I'm not thinking about Aryna when I'm practising, but it's more that I know that the competition is big and if I stop for a while I might be pushed out," Swiatek said.
"But I had this kind of thing in Rome 2022, with the final against Ons [Jabeur]. Physically, I was so tired. The rallies were long, Ons was playing a pretty tricky game.
"So after that game for the next few years, when I was doing the worst practices on court and I was dying, I was thinking about that game."
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