Moya, who won the first of his 18 ATP singles titles at the same tournament 10 years ago, beat the Australian 6-3, 7-6 to earn a second-round match against Argentine Juan Monaco.
"I'm happy considering it was a first match. I didn't play at all badly and I hope to improve every day," said the Spaniard.
Two other seeded players were less fortunate.
Fifth seed Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina lost 7-5, 6-1 to Spanish qualifier Marc Lopez while Italy's Filippo Volandri, seeded sixth, was beaten 6-4, 6-2 by Germany's Lars Burgsmuller.
French Open champion Gaston Gaudio of Argentina, the second seed, plays later on Tuesday.
