Russia's Alex Bogomolov Jr. beat British qualifier Dominic Inglot in the first round of the Malaysian Open on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old right-hander overcame stiff early resistance from the doubles specialist to win 7-5, 6-3 in just over an hour.
Bogomolov, who has slipped to 119 in the world rankings from top 40 early in the year, sets up a second-round encounter with Spain's David Ferrer, the tournament's top seed.
Ferrer had a bye into the second round of the $850,000 hard-court event.