Moscow, Russia, 15 October 2014 | AAP/AP/tennis.com.au

Big-serving Australian Sam Groth has sent down 20 aces to blast his way into the second round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

The world No.88 eliminated local hope Andrey Rublev 7-6(4) 7-5 on Tuesday to set up a second-round showdown with the fifth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.

In the women’s draw, Groth’s compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic overcame stiff resistance from Russian Alexandra Panova in the first round to win 6-4 4-6 6-3.

Next up for the Brisbane-based Tomljanovic is a second round meeting with fourth seed Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.

In Stockholm, another Aussie, Marinko Matosevic, fell in three sets to No.7 seed Fernando Verdasco.

Matosevic battled for one hour and 47 minutes in the first-round encounter before going down 6-3 3-6 6-3.