Andy Murray put last year's Hamburg Masters nightmare behind him by beating Russia's Dmitry Tursunov 6-4 6-1 in the first round on Monday.
Murray's stay in Hamburg last year was cut short when he suffered a serious wrist injury, a problem that caused him to miss both the French Open and Wimbledon.
Twelve months on, the 15th seed enjoyed a stress-free return to northern Germany as he saw off Tursunov with a commanding performance.
"Last year was tough," Murray said at a news conference. "It was an unfortunate injury but it was the last thing on my mind when I was out on court today.
"I was still feeling some pain in my wrist at the end of last year but I've had no problems with it so far this season."
The Scot faces France's Gilles Simon in the second round.
Earlier on Monday, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the Australian Open finalist, completed a terrific comeback to beat fellow Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 0-6 7-6 6-2.
There was one minor upset when Spain's Fernando Verdasco beat Russian 10th seed Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 6-2.
Former world number one Marat Safin, who had to come through qualifying, looked in good touch as he beat Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-5 6-2.
(Editing by Miles Evans)