The defending champion breezed into the second round of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships yesterday with 6-1, 6-3 victory over Yugoslavia's Nenad Zimonjic.

Paes used well-placed angle shots and volleys to repeatedly torment his opponent. And Paes, not known as a big server, hit seven aces and didn't face a break point.

Paes, whose victory last year was the only singles title of his career, said the grass courts of Newport are tailored to his game. He played grass-court tennis growing up in India, and the soft grass here produces low bounces that are perfect for the 5'10'' Paes and his compact strokes.

Paes, who wants to improve his current singles ranking of 102, will face top-seeded Wayne Ferreira of South Africa tomorrow.