World No.1 men's player Novak Djokovic powered through his opening game of the $US5.4 million ($A5.84 million) China Open on Tuesday following a shaky start, while five-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova also won.
The men's third seed in Beijing, Tomas Berdych, joins Djokovic in the second round after winning his game, but it was heartbreak for women's world No.6 Agnieszka Radwanska, who became the highest seed to tumble so far.
Djokovic made an emphatic start to a tournament he has a 100 per cent record in, defeating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-2 6-1 in 63 minutes.
But the Serb took a while to get into his stride, trading a series of serves with his opponent early on before regaining his composure and sealing the set.
The reigning China Open champion will face Canadian Vasek Pospisil in the next round as he bids for his fifth title in Beijing, a tournament he has won every year since 2009, apart from 2011 when he did not take part.
Meanwhile world No.6 Berdych eased past Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-1 6-2.
Berdych, a former winner in Beijing in 2011, is chasing points as he pushes to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals in November.
He is currently in eighth position in the race for the London tournament and must at least remain in that position if he is to make the season finale of the top eight players.
Only five berths are available as the world's top three players - Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer - have already confirmed their place for London.
Spaniard Nadal plays his match in Beijing later on Tuesday.
In the women's tournament, Sharapova was facing a potential banana skin in her match with Elina Svitolina, who was full of confidence following her appearance in the Wuhan Open semi-finals last week.
The pair matched each other early in the match before Sharapova broke her opponent in the fourth game.
Sharapova traded breaks with the 33rd-ranked player midway through the second set, before she powered through with a 6-2 6-2 scoreline.
Fifth seed Radwanska, meanwhile, has now failed to get past the second round in her last two tournaments in China, losing to Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-4 6-4 in Beijing.
Radwanska was hoping for a deep run at the China Open to seal her place in next month's WTA Finals, the season-ending finale in Singapore featuring the world's top eight women players.
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