Daniil Medvedev doubled down on opponent Lorenzo Musetti, dispatching the Italian for the second time in six days to begin the Cincinnati Masters with a win.
The third seed who claimed the title here four years ago, prevailed in 77 minutes with a 6-3, 6-2 scoreline.
Medvedev backed up his defeat of the Italian last week in Toronto.
The former US Open winner ended with 19 winners and 21 unforced errors while Muaetti was held to a mere seven winners.
“Every match at this level is tough. If you play five percent worse you would lose. It’s just about small gaps. I’m happy to win this one,” Medved, with an ATP-leading 23 match wins this season, said.
“I don’t do it all the time, but every time I step onto the court I try to win. The more I do that the better I feel,” he said.
“Today I managed to be a bit better in the important moments. I got better and better as the match went on.”
While Medvedev moved through, there were no 22nd birthday celebrations for Toronto champion Jannik Sinner.
The Italian eighth seed went down 6-4, 7-6 (4) to qualifier Dusan Lajovic three days after winning the first Masters title of his career.
It was Sinner’s first loss in an opening match this season after 13 winning starts on the Tour.
