Nick Kyrgios has overcome illness to reach the second round of the China Open with a straight-sets win over Nikoloz Basilashvili.
In his first tour-level match since a shattering Davis Cup semi-final loss to David Goffin, Kyrgios cleaned up the Georgian 6-1 6-2 in less than an hour on Tuesday to set up an enticing return bout with Mischa Zverev.
Kyrgios was suspended from the ATP Tour after infamously tanking against the German at last year's Shanghai Masters.
The pair haven't met since, though fellow Australian Bernard Tomic was fined a Wimbledon-record $US15,000 ($A19,185) after feigning injury and admitting to being "a little bit bored" against Zverev during a first-round loss in June at the All England Club.
At one point, Kyrgios looked like the rematch wouldn't eventuate this week.
After racing through the first set in 26 minutes, the 22-year-old complained of feeling sick in the stomach and suffering asthma early in the second.
He called for the tournament doctor and required courtside treatment.
"I was feeling fine and then, all of a sudden, one game," he said before taking a pill and resuming to hold to love the next game and then breaking Basilashvili for a third time to surge ahead 3-2.
Another break and then his 12th ace and the match was all over after just 55 minutes.
Seeded eighth in Beijing, Kyrgios could face Goffin's Belgian teammate Steve Darcis in the quarter-finals if he atones against Zverev.
The Canberran needs a big run to avoid a rankings fall as he defends points from winning the 2016 Japan Open being held simultaneously this year to the China Open.
Third seed Grigor Dimitrov denied rising Bosnian Damir Dzumhur to set up a marquee second-round clash with Juan Martin del Potro, who beat fellow South American Pablo Cuevas 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.
Del Potro's countryman Leonardo Mayer progressed to the second round with a 7-6 (8-6) 5-7 6-4 victory over Paolo Lorenzi.
Top seed Rafael Nadal dropped the first set and only won the second in a tiebreak before prevailing over France's Lucas Pouille while there were also wins for sixth seed John Isner, seventh seed Tomas Berdych and Andrey Rublev.
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