James Blake advances to 2nd round in Sony Open, beating fellow American Ryan Harrison

James Blake, of the United States, returns a shot from Ryan Harrison, of the United States, during the Sony Open tennis tournament, Wednesday, March 20, 2013, in Key Biscayne, Fla. Blake defeated Harrison 6-2, 6-2. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. - James Blake advanced to the second round of the Sony Open with a 6-2, 6-2 win over fellow American Ryan Harrison on Wednesday night.

The 33-year-old Blake, a former top-10 player now ranked 95th and playing here on a wild card entry, was far more active than the 20-year-old Harrison, ranked seven spots higher, in the 57-minute match.

"It was one of those days when things are going in and right from the start I felt really good," Blake said. "Tonight is an example of what can happen when I can put it together. I was really being aggressive and taking it to him."

Harrison won his first two service games to take a 2-1 lead, but Blake won the next five games to take the first set. In the second set, Blake raced to a 4-1 lead.

Two-time Grand Slam winner Lleyton Hewitt also won his opening match, topping Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-1, 7-6 (3).

Hewitt, the 32-year-old Australian who once topped the world rankings, made his first start in the event since 2009.

He has been injured much of the past three years, undergoing hip surgery and operations on his left foot, and is now ranked No. 91.

In women's play, Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., advanced to the second round with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Israel's Shahar Peer.

The 19-year-old will have to stage a massive upset to make it to round three. Bouchard faces world No. 2 Maria Sharapova on Friday.

Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2006 champion, beat Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain 6-3, 6-3 and 17-year-old Victoria Duval, a wild-card entry ranked 376th, beat 66th-ranked Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (4), 6-4.

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