Australian Christopher O'Connell proved far too good for Bosnian veteran Damir Dzumhur, comfortably winning their first-round clash at the Shanghai Masters in straight sets.
O'Connell, currently No.103 in the world but with a career-high ranking of No.53, dominated on serve, blasting six aces to his opponent's one in the 6-2 6-4 win on Thursday.
The Australian was also much more effective with his return game, breaking Dzumhur three times for the match, while his 33-year-old rival failed to convert any of his four break-point opportunities.
O'Connell's victory set up a second-round clash against talented Canadian left-hander Denis Shapovalov on Saturday.
The 31-year-old O'Connell was the only Australian in action on Thursday, with Jordan Thompson to take on Frenchman Ugo Humbert on Friday.
Australia's top-ranked player, world No.7 Alex de Minaur, opens his Shanghai campaign on Saturday against Argentina's Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
De Minaur has been in impressive form of late, and will be backing up after taking a set off world No.2 Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the China Open on Tuesday.
In another first-round result, Jenson Brooksby followed up his semi-final run at the Japan Open with a straight-sets win in Shanghai on Thursday.
The American scored a comprehensive 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 win over Japan's James Trotter.
Brooksby returned to professional tennis this year at the Australian Open after two years away from the game because of injuries and a suspension after missing drug tests.
His loss at the Japan Open in Tokyo was to fellow American and second-seeded Taylor Fritz.
The top-seeded players in Shanghai all received first-round byes. Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Fritz in the Japan Open final, announced after his win in Tokyo that he won't play in Shanghai.
"I've been struggling with some physical issues and, after discussing with my team, we believe the best decision is to rest and recover," the top-ranked Alcaraz wrote in an Instagram post.
