Number two seed Andy Murray, who received a first-round bye, avoided the fate of so many other seeds, though he was extended by Spain’s Tommy Robredo before coming through for a 6-4 7-5 win.
Robredo looked poised to force a second-set tiebreak, up 30-0 on serve at 5-6, only to lose four straight points and fall to the Scotsman.
The Spaniard made three consecutive mistakes to gift Murray match point, before the former U.S. Open and Wimbledon champion closed out the match after a 26-stroke rally with a drop shot that caught the top of the net and toppled over.
“Today was the best I hit the ball on the hardcourts since I started playing on it again,” said Murray, who was ousted in his first match in Washington last week on the same surface.
“I felt like I was returning (serve) a little bit better, which is important for my game.”
Next up for Murray is unseeded Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, who beat 15th seed Gael Monfils of France in a third-set tiebreak 6-3 3-6 7-6(4).