Los Angeles: World number 20 Jack Sock breezed past Swiss Marco Chiudinelli 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 Friday to lift the United States atop Switzerland 1-0 in their Davis Cup first-round tie.
The 24-year-old American, who cracked the top 20 for the first time in his career with a second-consecutive runner-up effort last month in Auckland, needed one hour, 58 minutes to dispatch his 146th-ranked rival.
Sock fired 12 aces with only one double fault and lost only one of 33 points on his second serve. He also denied Chiudinelli on all four break points he faced, all in the final set.
American John Isner and Swiss Henri Laaksonen were set to meet in the second opening-day match at Birmingham, Alabama.
Americans Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey will play Swiss Antoine Bellier and Adrien Bossel in Saturday's doubles match with reverse singles set for Sunday.
The US squad is 3-1 against the Swiss in Davis Cup play, losing only in 2001 when Roger Federer won two singles and played a triumphant doubles match.
