Fifth seed Fernando Verdasco has booked a place in the second round of the Atlanta Open with a straight sets win over Dusan Lajovic.

The Spaniard saw off his Serbian opponent 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 on Tuesday to set up a meeting with Frenchman Julien Benneteau in the next round.

Benneteau beat Australian John Patrick Smith 6-4 6-2 while Taylor Fritz was too strong for American compatriot Austin Smith, 6-2 6-2.

There were also wins for Tobias Kamke, Bjorn Fratangelo, Yoshihito Nishioka and Horacio Zeballos.