Rotterdam – Milos Raonic wrapped up his debut match at the Rotterdam World Tennis with a 19th ace to see off Russian qualifier Alexander Kuznetsov 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 7-5 in the first round on Tuesday.
The Canadian second seed needed a comeback after losing the opening set to the number 88 before taking control in the second set and keeping up the pressure in the third to book into the second round.
The Australian Open quarter-finalist will next face Italian Simone Bolelli.
Raonic said that he needed time to get used to conditions in the centre court, but quickly made the proper adjustments.
“I've had a lot of training here but it can be difficult to adapt to playing,” said the 24-year-old ranked sixth on the ATP. “As a qualifier, he already had two matches.
I got behind but I'm happy with the way I fought today; for me that is the most important thing. I have a big belief in myself.”
Raonic ended with 46 winners and 31 unforced errors, breaking Kuznetsov four times, including in the penultimate game of the match for a 6-4 lead in the final set.
Raonic now stands 8-2 on the season; he missed the tournament last year due to injury.
Fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil earned a 6-4, 6-2 victory in less than an hour over Philipp Kohlschreiber, as he joined Raonic in making a winning start.
Pospisil advanced into a match against either top seed Andy Murray or Frenchman Nicolas Mahut.
“I played a flawless match, I did everything well,” said the 59th-ranked Pospisil. “My forehand and return were both working. I didn't do much wrong today.”
French eighth seed Gilles Simon, a two-time semi-finalist, needed a recovery after losing the first set to beat Portugal's Joao Sousa 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.
Jeremy Chardy advanced as Julien Benneteau retired at 3-3 with a leg injury; Sergiy Stakhovsky of the Ukraine beat Spain's Marcel Granollers 6-2, 7-6 (9-7). – Sapa-dpa