David Nalbandian, fighting off a virus, took a step toward full, ousting South African qualifier Rik De Voest 6-0, 6-4 to reach the second round of the ATP Cincinnati Masters.
A week after losing badly in Montreal due to an illness which he has still not totally shaken, the third seed squeezed through despite more than two hours of rain delays.
"I'm playing better, the first round is always tough. But I'm feeling much better than last week," said the Argentine, who was hammered a week ago in Toronto by Italian Davide Sanguinetti in the first round.
The 2003 quarter-finalist earned his 32nd victory of the season.
"I'm not one hundred percent yet, I feel a little bit tired yet," he confessed. "You need few days to recover power and energy.
"But the match for today was good, I think every single day will be better for me. Short matches, short points, less games - everything is important."
Another under-achiever from last week also showed major improvement. with Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis eliminating 2002 Melbourne winner Thomas Johansson 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/3).
Baghdatis is on the prowl for a first career trophy.
"I just went in and tried to win every point and tried to win the most important ones," said the smiling Cypriot, who won hearts during his run to the Aussie final against world number one Roger Federer in January.
"It has been an amazing year for me," said the eighth seed who lost in his Toronto opener. "The only thing is that I need now to win a tournament."
Johansson, a 31-year-old Swede ranked 38th, missed on five break-point chances while Baghdatis, 28-15 this season as he rides his highest career ranking, was unable to convert on four in the two-hour, six-minute drama.
"It was a weird match, not a lot of rhythm," said Baghdatis. "But I played well on the important points, and that made the difference. It's more humid here and the balls are heavier (than last week at Toronto)."
With a fortnight to go before the start of the US Open, the cement event will be another test of nerve for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
The anticipated finals showdown between the world's best pair never materialised in Canada, Nadal losing in the third round to Tomas Berdych while Federer lifted his lucky seventh title of the season.
Federer won the Cincinnati trophy a year ago over Andy Roddick.
After arriving by private jet from Canada on Monday, the Swiss star was resting in his hotel before his starting date against Asia's top player, Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan.
"I need to play a great match against him. The first round is always tough," said the top seed. "After that is over, I can get into the tournament."
Russia work horse Nikolay Davydenko who has played in 24 of 25 possible tournaments this season, maintained his marathon man status, but lost 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela as well.
Davydenko remains without a cement victory this summer after coming to Canada and losing in the first-round last week just after winning his second title of the season on clay in Sopot, Poland.
In other first-round matches Nicolas Almagro defeated fellow Spaniard Alberto Martin 6-3 and Florent Serra won an all-French showdown as he eliminated Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-3.
On-form Russian Dmitry-i Tursunov stunned unseeded Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean 4-6, 6-4, 6-3; Korean qualifier Hyung-taik Lee put out this month's Washington champion Arnaud Clement of France 6-4, 6-4.