Moscow: Fifth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain beat local favorite Andrei Kuznetsov 6-3, 6-4 Monday to reach the second round of the Kremlin Cup.
Bautista-Agut won in 1 hour, 17 minutes to set up a meeting with either Australia's Sam Groth or Russian wild card Andrei Rublev, who play Tuesday.
"It felt good. I think I played a solid match," Bautista Agut said. "I feel a lot of confidence."
Bautista Agut won the last three games of the first set, then had two match points saved while leading 5-2 in the second.
Also, eighth-seeded Andreas Seppi advanced by beating Serbia's Dusan Lajovic 7-5, 6-4. Seppi, the 2012 Kremlin Cup champion and a semifinalist last year, faces either Croatia's Ivan Dodig or Spain's Pere Riba in the second round.
"(Lajovic) is a very tough player. He did pretty well, so it's a good first-round win," Seppi said. "I've played some very nice matches here, so coming back is pretty special for me."
In the women's draw, fifth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced into the second round when her Czech opponent Klara Koukalova retired with a viral illness after losing the first set 6-1.
Either Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus or Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Kozlova awaits Kuznetsova in the second round.
Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova also progressed, beating Danka Kovinic of Montenegro 6-2, 6-2.
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