Kyle Edmund eased through to the third round of the Winston-Salem Open on Tuesday night, beating Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 6-3.
The 23-year-old British No1, who is preparing for the start of next week’s US Open where he is seeded 16th, did not face a single break point during his 1hr 13mins on court and won 93 per cent of points on his first serve.
Edmund, who earlier in the day was named in Team Europe for the 2018 Laver Cup, broke the Argentine twice in the first set, then again in the first service game of the second to set up the win. He faces Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena in the next round.
Meanwhile, Johanna Konta’s US Open preparations suffered a blow after she was forced to withdraw from the Connecticut Open.
The 27-year-old British No1, who is the only British woman with direct entry into the main draw of the final grand slam of the season, was scheduled to face Carla Suarez Navarro but pulled out with a viral illness, giving her Spanish opponent a walkover route to the quarter-finals.
Konta, who ended the 2016 season ranked in the world’s top 10, is not seeded at Flushing Meadows.
Serena Williams has received a seedings boost ahead of the US Open by being placed at No17, nine spots above her current world ranking.
Meanwhile, the American has topped the chart as the highest-paid female athlete for a third consecutive year — despite taking most of the year off after giving birth to her first child last September.
According to the Forbes list, the former world No1 earned only $62,000 (£48,000) in winnings but received $18.1million (£14m) from endorsements.
Andy Murray’s former coach Ivan Lendl has teamed up with rising German star Alexander Zverev ahead of the US Open.
