LOS ANGELES, July 27(Xinhuanet)-- Tennis all-time great Andre Agassi made perfect comeback from a back injury here on Tuesday, easing past unseeded Frenchman Jean-Rene Lisnard 6-1, 6-0 in the opening round of the Mercedes-Benz Cup hard-court tournament.

Sidelined for two months since losing in the first round of theFrench Open in May, the 35-year-old veteran of the United States covered the court well against his overmatched opponent, scurrying crosscourt several times to chase down shots in the 47-minute showdown.

"I was very happy with all aspects of my game," said Agassi, who is the three-time champion and the top-seeded player of the tournament at UCLA.

"Certainly to come out here for the first match in such a long time, I could never have expected or hoped for that standard and to be that comfortable early on," he added."I just settled in early. I felt like I was covering good court."

Defending champion Tommy Haas of Germany played for the first time since tearing a ligament in his right ankle at Wimbledon and also won in straight sets.

The fourth-seeded Haas was a 6-4, 6-4 winner over 2.08 meter Ivo Karlovic of Croatia. Haas will meet Xavier Malisse of Belgium in the second round and is a potential semifinal opponent for Agassi.

In Tuesday's other first round clashes, third-seed Nicolas Kiefer retired due to respiratory problems while trailing James Blake 3-2 in their first set, while fifth-seeded Taylor Dent pulled out of the tournament due to lingering effects of heat illness.

Second-seeded Dominik Hrbaty beat Slovakian Davis Cup teammate Karol Beck 6-4, 6-1; Zack Fleishman, a qualifier ranked No. 345, upset No. 9 seed Vincent Spadea 4-6, 6-2, 6-4; Amir Hadad of Israel beat Cecil Mamiit 2-6, 6-3, 6-3; Gilles Muller of Luxembourg defeated Sebastien de Chaunac of France 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(6); Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic ousted Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman 6-4, 6-4. Enditem