Jack Draper eased through to the Madrid Open quarter-finals with a straight-sets win over American Tommy Paul.
The British No 1 and fifth seed beat his 11th-seeded opponent 6-2 6-2 and will now meet Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in the last eight, live on Sky Sports Tennis on Thursday.
Draper broke Paul to go 2-1 up in the first set before reeling off three straight games from 3-2 to take command of the match.
The 23-year-old sought to follow suit when he set up a break point in the third game of the second set, only for Paul to claw his way back to deuce before clinching the next two points to seal the hold.
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Draper says he aspires to take some of fellow lefty Rafael Nadal’s qualities, but does not compare himself to the 22-time Grand Slam champion
The American’s resistance gave out two games later, though, when Draper cruised to a 40-0 buffer before using the first of three break points to lead 3-2.
It was all Draper from there on, the Briton winning the next game to love for a 4-2 advantage before breaking again courtesy of a forehand down the line.
He would then close out the victory moments later, having dropped just four games in the match.
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Highlights of Frances Tiafoe against Matteo Arnaldi from the Madrid Open
Draper finished with a first serve win percentage of 86 to Paul’s 53, while producing four aces, clinching four of six break points, and winning 28 receiving points to his opponent’s nine in his latest commanding win.
“I just think I know that it’s just been a matter of time until I do something good on the clay,” Draper said.
“When I practise back home on it, and when I was younger, I always felt good on the surface.
“It’s a bit of a different level now, obviously. It feels good to try and keep on proving to myself and everyone else that I’m a good player on this surface and that I’m dangerous.”
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