The Czech star lost the opening set 6-4 to Kuznetsov, suggesting that his participation at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament would be a brief one.

But Berdych, the ninth seed, levelled the scores by taking the second set 6-3 as the momentum in the match shifted.

The comeback was completed when the 31-year-old won the decider 6-4.

France’s Benoit Paire or Germany’s Tommy Haas will meet Berdych in the second round of the tournament.

The first meeting of Britain’s Dan Evans and Kyle Edmund was another eagerly anticipated one on the Monte Carlo clay courts.

While Evans made the brighter start by claiming a break, Edmund soon gained control of proceedings to secure a straight sets 7-5, 6-1 victory.

He will now face the stern test of Spain’s Rafael Nadal, with the fourth seed seeking to win the event for the 10th time in his career.

Germany’s Alexander Zverev, the tournament 14th seed, was also among the first-round winners today.

The rising star secured an impressive 6-1, 6-2 win over Italian wildcard Andreas Seppi.

He will await the winner of the match between Spain’s Feliciano Lopez and Russia’s Daniil Medvedev.

The top eight seeds have received a bye into the second round, including Britain’s Andy Murray, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka.