Nick Kyrgios has picked up where he left off in Atlanta, cruising to victory in his opening match of the Cincinnati Masters.
The Australian 14th seed took just 67 minutes to dispose of 22-year-old French world No.26 Lucas Pouille 6-2, 7-5.
Nick Kyrgios has advanced to the second round at Cincinnati.Credit: Getty Images
The 21-year-old closed out the match with a forehand winner and his 16th ace after breaking Pouille at 5-5 in the second set to give himself the chance to serve for the match.
Kyrgios made no mistake.
He went about his business with a minimum of fuss despite going on court late and finishing the match after midnight.
Throughout the match Kyrgios pressed on the Pouille second serve and took chances when they were presented to him, winning three of four break points.
Kyrgios has now won five consecutive matches, including his Atlanta title and will face Croatian youngster Borna Coric in the second round.
Kyrgios beat Coric 6-4, 6-4 on the claycourts of Estoril this year, in their only meeting to date.
Coric's countryman, 12th seed Marin Cilic, advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Serbia's Viktor Troicki.
Not so lucky was 10th seeded Spaniard David Ferrer, who was humbled 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 by French journeyman Julien Benneteau.
American wildcards Jared Donaldson and Reilly Opelka continued their impressive form.
Opelka defeated inconsistent world No.53 Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (11-9), while Donaldson breezed past Spanish veteran Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).
Both face tough second-round matches, with Opelka to play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Donaldson drawn to play Swiss second-seed Stan Wawrinka.
Grigor Dimitrov found some form to beat Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-1, 6-3 while South African Kevin Anderson and Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas also advanced to the second round.
AAP