Rising American star James Blake moved safely through to the second round of the Kroger St. Jude with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over former champion Michael Chang.

Blake, the No. 8 seed from Yonkers, New York, broke Chang's serve in the opening game of the match and never looked back against the 1997 Memphis winner.

"It's always special to beat a great champion like Michael," said the 22-year-old Blake. "I'm a lot more confident. Now I feel like I'm a legitimate player on the tour compared to a year ago when I had to play above myself just to compete."

After taking the first set with some breathtaking returns, Blake capitalized on an overrule on break point at 3-3 in the second set to take a decisive break of serve.

"There are close line calls all the time," said Blake. "You can't do anything about those, so I had to make sure I took control of the things I can take control over. I'm playing better now than when I played Michael five months ago [in Hong Kong] and I hope to continue that."

Despite the overrule, Chang, who celebrates his 30th birthday on February 22, still had his chances during the match. "I don't know if I would have held my serve or not, but it would have given me the opportunity to get back into the game," said Chang. "It was a bit unlucky, but I had my chances. I had a couple of break point opportunities but I wasn't able to convert or ht enough good shots today."

Blake, who played a crucial part of the United States' Davis Cup win against the Slovak Republic in Oklahoma City two weeks ago, said he thoroughly enjoyed the experience of representing his country. "Davis Cup was the most special thing I could do as a tennis player," said Blake. "With so much patriotism around at the moment, playing tennis for my country is the best I can do other than joining the army. Being there with the team was a great experience."

Blake now meets another rising American star Taylore Dent in the second round.