Tommy Robredo recorded a straight-sets win over unseeded Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin to move into the second round of the US Open on Monday.
The 14th seed did not have things all his own way, but crucially dropped only one game on his own serve in a match that was closely contested for long stages.
The Spaniard saved a break point in the opening game of the contest but could not do the same in game five as Roger-Vasselin went into a 4-2 advantage, but Robredo soon levelled matters up and his opponent never led in the match again.
Consecutive breaks helped Robredo snatch a topsy-turvy opener, and he took this momentum by breaking early in a second set in which he saved three break points on his way to winning it 6-3.
Any hopes that the world number 52 had of launching a comeback were ended when Robredo moved 3-0 ahead in the third, and the rest of the encounter went with serve as the veteran closed out a 6-4 6-3 6-4 win.
Robredo's best finish at Flushing Meadows was his quarter-final appearances in last year's tournament.