Three-times grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka has recovered from a sluggish start to beat Frenchman Benoit Paire in the opening round of the ATP Tour event in Rotterdam.

Wawrinka, who suffered a first-round loss in Sofia last week, toughed it out in the first set before he romped home in the second to record a 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 victory.

The Swiss made a shaky start as he sprayed consecutive backhand errors to hand Paire a break in the seventh game.

However, Wawrinka produced relentless accuracy from the baseline to save three set points before clinching the opening set in tiebreak.

The 33-year-old, who is chasing his first title since undergoing two knee surgeries in 2017, lost just one more game at the start of the second set as he broke his opponent three consecutive times en route to victory.

World No.68 Wawrinka will play fourth-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic or German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber in the next round.

Earlier on Monday, Italian Andreas Seppi overcame a mid-match blip against German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk to progress with a 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-2 win.

Mikhail Kukushkin did not drop his serve in a 6-2 7-6 (7-4) win over local hope Robin Haase.