COMMACK, N.Y. -- Richard Krajicek, the 1996 Wimbledon champion who missed last year because of surgery on his right elbow, routed Dominik Hrabty 6-1, 6-2 Monday night in the opening round of the TD Waterhouse Cup.

''My elbow's good now,'' said Krajicek, 30, who reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon this year. ''The recovery was supposed to be three months, but it took 18 because there was a lot of scar tissue.

''Five-set matches at Wimbledon helped convince me I'm getting back to form. I've played in five events since then and each tournament has been better than the previous one. The biggest thing of all is that I have trust. That's important. I'd like to win two or three more matches here and then I'll be ready for the U.S. Open.''

The U.S. Open starts Aug. 26.

Bondan Ulihrach, the Czech Republic's No. 2 player, eliminated Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-2. Uhlirach, 27, earned a career-high $504,871 last year as he finished No. 32, his highest ATP ranking in 10 years.

Two U.S. players who have yet to win on tour advanced to the second round: Kevin Kim, of Torrance. Calif., ousted Alexander Popp 6-2, 6-4, while Jeff Morrison, of Huntington, W. Va., was a 6-2, 7-6 (3) winner over Jerome Golmard.

Wayne Arthurs, a member of the Australian Davis Cup team last year and a quarterfinal winner over Pete Sampras in Cincinnati two weeks ago, withdrew Monday because of a stomach virus.

The tournament was known as the Hamlet Cup until this year.