Kei Nishikori cruised into the second round of the Rakuten Japan Open with a straight-sets win over Yuichi Sugita on Monday.
Ranked 110, the 30-year-old Sugita put up an early fight against the third seed, but the gulf in class eventually showed as Nishikori powered to a 6-4, 6-1 victory at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza in 1 hour, 21 minutes.
World No. 12 Nishikori said he was initially daunted facing another Japanese player in front of a home crowd.