Jack Draper cruised into the last 16 of the Monte-Carlo Masters with a straight-sets victory over Marcos Giron.
The British No 1 produced a dominant 6-1 6-1 win to kick off his tournament – and quest for a second ATP 1000 title of the season – after receiving a bye into the second round.
With his service game and forehand functioning well, the fifth seed spent just an hour on court as he powered past the American.
Draper stamped his authority with two breaks in a first set he won in just under half an hour and it was a similar story as he upped the tempo in the second.
Giron had little answer and became increasingly error prone as Draper wrapped up a comfortable win with another break.
Tomas Etcheverry or Alejandro Fokina stand between Draper and a place in the quarter-finals, where fourth seed and former Roland Garros and US Open runner-up Casper Ruud could lie in wait.
Draper hoping for good Monte-Carlo run
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Draper is pleased with the way he has transitioned over to clay since his impressive season so far on hard court
Draper told Sky Sports: “It’s not easy conditions here sometimes and we were obviously playing later [in the day] but I feel like I have been transitioning well to the clay.
“I’ve been working hard to look for my forehand and do all the things to be effective on this surface as I have struggled a little bit in the last couple of years.
“Hopefully this year I can have a good run.”
Top-seed Zverev suffers early exit
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Highlights of Alexander Zverev against Matteo Berrettini from the Monte-Carlo Masters
Draper’s victory came after a shock defeat for top seed and world No 2 Alexander Zverev at the hands of Matteo Berrettini.
The German was beaten 2-6 6-3 7-5 as Berrettini came from behind to snatch victory and claim the biggest win of his career by ranking in a tense final set.
Italian Berrettini, the world No 34, failed to serve out for the match at 5-4 but broke again in the next game, with one forehand winner coming after a remarkable 48-shot rally. He then made no mistake in his next service game, completing victory in two hours and 27 minutes.
Three-time champion Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Australian Jordan Thompson 4-6 6-4 6-2.
In one of the remaining first-round matches, former world No 3 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria beat Chilean Nicolas Jarry 6-3 6-4.
What is Jack Draper’s route to the final?
Should he reach the semi-finals, Draper would potentially meet reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz for the third time this season.
Meanwhile, British No 3 Cameron Norrie was unable to join Draper in the main draw after losing 6-4 2-6 6-3 to Mattia Bellucci in qualifying.
What is the schedule for the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters?
Main draw: Sunday April 6-Sunday April 13
Doubles final: Sunday April 13 (12pm)
Singles final: Sunday April 13 (3pm)
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