Kei Nishikori advanced to the second round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov on Tuesday night.
Nishikori, playing with his left knee heavily taped due to tendinitis, broke Dimitrov in the opening game of the match, then held serve before breaking again in the ninth to claim the set in 38 minutes.
Both players blasted away from the baseline, but Nishikori got the better of it with his deep returns and precise placement of repeated winners.