Britain’s Jack Draper needed just 55 minutes to win on his comeback at Indian Wells and set up a second-round match against compatriot Dan Evans.
Draper, 21, thrashed Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi 6-1 6-1.
The left-hander had not played since mid-January when he lost to Spain’s Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open.
Showing no signs of the leg injury which had kept him out, Draper looked sharp and confident as he dismantled 135th-ranked Riedi’s serve.
Draper, ranked 56th in the world, broke in six of his seven return games as well as dominating on his own serve.
While the same age as his Swiss opponent, Draper has much more experience on the biggest stages after emerging last season as one of the ATP Tour’s rising stars.
And despite a seven-week lay-off, he struck the ball confidently and consistently in an impressive performance.
The rapid win sets up an intriguing match against 24th seed Evans, who will surely provide a sterner test than Riedi did on his debut in an ATP Masters event.
Evans, 32, received a first-round bye at the prestigious event in the Californian desert and the Davis Cup team-mates will play each other competitively for the first time later this week.
Later on Thursday, British women’s number one Emma Raducanu – who has been struggling with a recurring wrist injury – is set to play Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic, while former men’s world number one Andy Murray plays Argentina’s Tomas Etcheverry.
