Dan Evans needed just an hour and 25 minutes to beat Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Londero 6-2 6-4 and reach the second round of the inaugural Adelaide International.

The British number one broke Londero four times on his way to a comfortable victory.

Evans, 29, will now face Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik in the last 16.

The tournament has been hit by the late withdrawals of the top two seeds Novak Djokovic and Alex de Minaur.

Evans will be hopeful of maintaining his impressive recent form at the tournament, where Canada’s 19-year-old world number 21 Felix Auger-Aliassime is now the highest ranked player.

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Evans was a key member of Great Britain’s squad in their recent run to the ATP Cup quarter-finals in Sydney, claiming important wins against Belgium’s David Goffin and Australia’s De Minaur.

The British world number 42, who has earned his first Grand Slam seeding at this month’s Australian Open in Melbourne, is in Auger-Aliassime’s half of the draw but would not meet him until the semi-finals.

The draw has opened up for Evans following the withdrawals of Djokovic and De Minaur, who has been forced to pull out with a rib injury.

Djokovic pulled out of the tournament after helping Serbia beat Davis Cup champions Spain in the final of the inaugural ATP Cup on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Evans’ ATP Cup team-mate Cameron Norrie lost 7-6 6-2 to Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro in the second round of the ASB Classic in Auckland.