Philipp Kohlschreiber ensured Germany got off to a winning start in the Power Horse World Team Cup in Dusseldorf with a thumping straight-sets win over Russia's Alex Bogomolov Jr.
Germany, the defending champions, moved into a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Blue Group encounter as Kohlschreiber cantered to a 6-0 6-2 victory in just 53 minutes.
"Today the match was like a treat - it was a top performance throughout the entire match," Kohlschreiber said on atpworldtour.com.
"I think it is always very special for the German team. We are at home. I think that we always feel a certain pressure compared to other teams. For sure this year's competition is very strong, but we want to defend our title."
Elsewhere in the Blue Group, Serbia took a 1-0 lead over Croatia as Viktor Troicki defeated Ivan Dodig 6-3 7-6 (7/3).
Argentina took an unassailable 2-0 lead in their Red Group encounter against the United States.
Carlos Berlocq got the ball rolling as he saw off former world number one Andy Roddick 6-2 6-2, while Leonardo Mayer followed up by defeating Ryan Harrison 6-4 5-7 6-3.
In the other Red Group tie, Tatsuma Ito's 3-6 6-4 6-4 win over Radek Stepanek gave Japan a 1-0 lead over Czech Republic.
