Andy Murray overcame a shaky start to see off David Nalbandian 6-4 6-1 and reach the third round of the Cincinnati Masters.
The British number one produced the perfect response after losing his opening match at the Montreal Masters last week by Kevin Anderson, seeing off Argentine Nalbandian in 76 minutes.
However, the fourth seed was forced to battle back from 3-1 down in a tight opening set that saw both men have problems on their own serve.
The second proved much more straightforward though, Murray taking nine of the final 10 games to set up a clash with either Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Alex Bogomolov Jr.
"It was tough," he told Sky Sports. "I haven't played a lot of matches lately and David is one of the most talented players on the tour.
"He started off really well and I was struggling to get any rhythm on my serve really.
"It's unbelievably quick, really fast courts, and the balls are moving a lot. I struggled to control the ball early on but I definitely played much better in the second set. I felt much better moving from the back of the court."
Nalbandian certainly gave the Scot a stern test in the first set, including saving five break points in his opening service game having already broken his rival at the very first time of asking.
A further two opportunities were wasted by Murray in the fourth game before he finally got things back on serve in the sixth - only for his opponent to respond with some crunching forehands that helped him edge 4-3 ahead.
Murray's reply was even more emphatic. He broke back immediately to start a run of five games on the spin.
Nalbandian finally ended the streak by breaking to make it 2-1 in the second, though that would prove to be a fleeting moment of success in what proved to be a procession for Murray.
The 24-year-old sealed victory on his second match point and then admitted afterwards that it was a much-needed result, particularly with the US Open looming large on the horizon.
"I felt tight early on," he said. "Obviously I want to start playing my best tennis, but the most important thing right now is to play as many matches as possible before the US Open.
"I didn't want to have another first round loss. I stayed calm towards the end of the first set when I was starting to move a little better, but early on I was definitely tight."
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The British number one produced the perfect response after losing his opening match at the Montreal Masters last week by Kevin Anderson, seeing off Argentine Nalbandian in 76 minutes.
However, the fourth seed was forced to battle back from 3-1 down in a tight opening set that saw both men have problems on their own serve.
The second proved much more straightforward though, Murray taking nine of the final 10 games to set up a clash with either Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Alex Bogomolov Jr.
"It was tough," he told Sky Sports. "I haven't played a lot of matches lately and David is one of the most talented players on the tour.
"He started off really well and I was struggling to get any rhythm on my serve really.
"It's unbelievably quick, really fast courts, and the balls are moving a lot. I struggled to control the ball early on but I definitely played much better in the second set. I felt much better moving from the back of the court."
Nalbandian certainly gave the Scot a stern test in the first set, including saving five break points in his opening service game having already broken his rival at the very first time of asking.
A further two opportunities were wasted by Murray in the fourth game before he finally got things back on serve in the sixth - only for his opponent to respond with some crunching forehands that helped him edge 4-3 ahead.
Murray's reply was even more emphatic. He broke back immediately to start a run of five games on the spin.
Nalbandian finally ended the streak by breaking to make it 2-1 in the second, though that would prove to be a fleeting moment of success in what proved to be a procession for Murray.
The 24-year-old sealed victory on his second match point and then admitted afterwards that it was a much-needed result, particularly with the US Open looming large on the horizon.
"I felt tight early on," he said. "Obviously I want to start playing my best tennis, but the most important thing right now is to play as many matches as possible before the US Open.
"I didn't want to have another first round loss. I stayed calm towards the end of the first set when I was starting to move a little better, but early on I was definitely tight."
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