World number eight Andy Roddick produced a serving masterclass to begin his quest for a second US Open title with a comfortable 6-2 6-2 6-2 straight-sets victory over Fabrice Santoro at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Roddick, who claimed his only Grand Slam victory on the US Open hardcourt in 2003, has struggled in the major championships this year after falling out of the Australian Open in the third round, Wimbledon in the second, while he did not participate in the French Open.
He endured an injury-plagued start to 2008 campaign and missed various events with back spasms, an inflamed shoulder and a stiff neck and he opted not to participate in the Olympic Games to warm-up for the US Open by playing at Los Angeles and Washington.
But the American, a winner in San Jose and Dubai this year, had little trouble against Santoro as he raced through the first set in 25 minutes after breaking the Frenchman in the opening game.
He used his blistering serve to record 15 aces — including one serve which topped out at 140 miles per hour, while he lost just four points on his first serve en route to dispatching his 35-year-old opponent in 76 minutes.
"I served real well, and that's going to be key at this tournament," Roddick said.
The eighth seed has advanced to the quarter-finals or better in six of the last seven years at Flushing Meadows and will next face Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, a straight-sets first-round winner over Thomas Johansson.
Novak Djokovic overcame an ankle injury to defeat Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-3 6-3 6-4, while fifth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko also advanced to the second round courtesy of a 6-3 6-3 6-3 victory over Israel's Dudi Sela.
Third-seed Djokovic, who lost to Roger Federer in last year's final, coasted through the first two sets against Clement with a mixture of powerful serves and a barrage of precise groundstrokes.
But the reigning Australian Open champion hyperextended his left ankle while planting himself for a forehand in the fourth game of the third set.
After receiving treatment from the trainer, Djokovic allowed Clement to pull level at 4-4 before finding his form in time to reach the second round for the fourth time in as many career attempts.
After the match, Djokovic downplayed the injury, saying: "It's OK. It's going to be good in two days, I'm sure. After that happened, I was thinking more of it than I was really actually feeling the pain, so it's not really a big deal. But in that certain moment, I felt big pain, so I just had to tape the ankle. But it's going to be all right."
Up next for Djokovic is American Robert Kendrick, who recorded a 7-6 (7/3) 6-4 5-7 7-5 triumph over Robert Nicolas Mahut of France.
Davydenko was making his first appearance in a Grand Slam since his opening-round upset at Wimbledon in June, but looked outstanding as he outclassed his feisty Israeli opponent.
He converted six breaks, including three in the third set, to wrap up the win in just over two hours to set up a second round meeting with Argentina's Agustin Calleri, who defeated American Austin Krajicek in straight sets.
"It was very surprising," said Davydenko, who has suffered nine first-round losses in majors since 2001. "I played good for the first round, because I'm always nervous and my confidence is not so great just in the beginning of tournaments.
"But I played good in all three sets. I was fighting good and I had very good concentration."
Seeds Nicolas Almagro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Dmitry Tursunov, Radek Stepanek and and Marin Cili also advanced along with Sam Warburg, Robby Ginepri, Carlos Moya, Victor Hanescu and Chris Guccione.