The defending champion Philipp Kohlschreiber took just under an hour to progress to the second round of the Heineken tennis Open final in Auckland.
The German fifth seed knocked out a two-time former champion and crowd favourite and didn't think he'd dispatch Dominic Hrbaty 6-1 6-2.
Kohlschreiber says he was expecting a very tough match because of Hrbaty's record in Auckland, where he won in 2001 and 2004.
But he says he got off to a good start and that opened up the match, clearing the way for another clash with the former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero in a repeat of last year's final.
Others who've progressed so far include the talented but temperamental Latvian Ernests Gulbis, who will face top seed Juan Martin del Potro, while Luxembourg's Giles Muller will play the American sixth seed Sam Querrey.
