Blake upended Gallic racket master Fabrice Santoro, a double-fisted threat off of both wings, with a 6-4, 6-4 victory.

Patchy compatriot Robby Ginepri, the 15th seed who has failed to follow up on last year's US Open semifinal run, managed to come good with perfect timing as he stopped Paul-Henri Mathieu in a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback.

And 2003 finalist Mardy Fish, a 65th-ranked wild card, put out Nicolas Mahut of France 6-1, 6-3 to complete a good day for the hosts at the US Open warm-up event.

Ginepri, ranked 18th, admitted to the jitters as his form has slipped in recent months.

"I'm feeling pretty nervous out there on the court," said Ginepri. "It's not allowing me to play the potential of my game. I'm not moving the same and not setting up for my shots."

Blake is fighting to escape a slump following his Indianapolis title last month, where he beat Andy Roddick.

Blake came in as a wild card a year ago, losing to Roger Federer in the first round. He is now the top-ranked American.

"There's plenty more pressure, but pressure is a good thing. It's an opportunity to do something good. The expectations have changed."

Third seed David Nalbandian, fighting off a virus, took a step toward full form, ousting South African qualifier Rik De Voest 6-0, 6-4.

A week after losing badly in Montreal due to an illness which he has still not totally shaken, the third seed squeezed through despite more than two hours of rain delays.

"I'm playing better, the first round is always tough. But I'm feeling much better than last week," said the Argentine, who was hammered a week ago in Toronto by Italian Davide Sanguinetti in the first round.

The 2003 quarterfinalist earned his 32nd victory of the season.

"I'm not one hundred percent yet, I feel a little bit tired yet," he confessed. "You need few days to recover power and energy.

"But the match for today was good, I think every single day will be better for me. Short matches, short points, less games -- everything is important."

Another under-achiever from last week also showed major improvement with Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis eliminating 2002 Melbourne winner Thomas Johansson 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/3).

Baghdatis is on the prowl for a first career trophy.

"I just went in and tried to win every point and tried to win the most important ones," said the smiling Cypriot, who won hearts during his run to the Aussie final against world number one Roger Federer in January.

"It was a weird match, not a lot of rhythm," said Baghdatis. "But I played well on the important points, and that made the difference. It's more humid here and the balls are heavier (than last week at Toronto)."

With a fortnight to go before the start of the US Open, the cement event will be another test of nerve for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

The anticipated finals showdown between the world's best pair never materialised in Canada, Nadal losing in the third round to Tomas Berdych while Federer lifted his lucky seventh title of the season.

Russia work horse Nikolay Davydenko, who has played in 24 of 25 possible tournaments this season, maintained his marathon man status, but lost 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela as well.

Davydenko remains without a cement victory this summer after coming to Canada and losing in the first-round last week just after winning his second title of the season on clay in Sopot, Poland.