Matthew Ebden of Australia held off qualifier Sergei Bubka of Ukraine 5-7 6-1 6-1 on Tuesday in the first round of the Atlanta Open tennis tournament.
Ebden will next meet American Ryan Harrison or countryman James Blake.
Eighth-seeded Go Soeda of Japan overcame an almost three-hour rain delay to beat Belgium’s Xavier Malisse 4-6 7-5 6-4.
Soeda advanced to a second-round clash with Russia’s Igor Kunitsyn.
Michael Russell came from a set down to beat Alex Kuznetsov 2-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4), setting up a second-round match with fifth-seeded South African Kevin Anderson.
John Isner, the No.1 seed, and two-time defending champion Mardy Fish, the second seed, will play their first-round matches on Thursday.