Taylor Fritz kickstarted his bid for a third straight title at the Delray Beach Open with a routine victory over Yunchaokete Bu. (More Tennis News)
The world number four suffered a shock early exit from the Dallas Open last week, but returned to form with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 defeat of Bu.
Fritz squandered two set points at 5-4 up in the opener, but ended up requiring a tie-break to nudge himself ahead.
But he did not look back from there, quickly gaining a double-break to put him out of reach and dropped only one point on his serve in the second set.
Fritz said: "I'm super happy to get it done. He was playing really well, super tough first set.
"It's good to come out and get a high-level second-round match."
Fritz is a Florida native, and he believes those home comforts help him thrive at Delray Beach.
He added: "I don't think it's that much of a coincidence that the tournament I've won two times in a row is also the tournament where I can stay at my own place, drive up to.
"It's great to be here. A lot of great memories and a lot of confidence playing on this court."
Next up for Fritz is Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who beat Mackenzie McDonald 6-2 5-7 6-0.
Reilly Opelka slumped to a 3-6 7-5 6-2 loss to Brandon Nakashima, who is now on 98 Tour-level match wins.
He will face Matteo Arnaldi, who battled past Australian Open star Learner Tien.
