British number three Jack Draper sailed into his second ATP Tour quarter-final of the year with a two-set thrashing of Yoshihito Nishioka in the second round of the Mexican Open.
The world number 50 needed just 68 minutes to dispatch his Japanese foe 6-3 6-0 and set up a showdown with Miomir Kecmanovic, who overcame Alexander Zverev's first-round conqueror Daniel Altmaier.
Draper's second-round battle with Nishioka represented the inaugural top-level meeting between the two players, but the momentum was firmly on the former's side thanks to his successful revenge mission versus Tommy Paul in round one.
The 22-year-old produced an equally dominant display against lucky loser Nishioka, winning each of the first four games of Wednesday's showdown, albeit while also beating away two break points in his second service game.
The Briton's four double faults almost offered Nishioka a route back into the first set, but double the number of aces ensured that such errors would not come back to haunt him, and the world number 82 could not lay a glove on Draper in the second set.
Nishioka only won a paltry six points throughout the entire second set - three behind his own serve and three on the returning side - as Draper posted his second bagel in as many Mexican Open matches.
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The 22-year-old was not the only Briton celebrating quarter-final progression on Wednesday, as women's number one Katie Boulter came from a set down to eliminate Beatriz Haddad Maia from the San Diego Open.
The world number 49 followed up her emphatic first-round beating of Lesia Tsurenko with a second top-20 win of the 2024 season, sinking the Brazilian 3-6 6-3 6-4 in two hours and 20 minutes.
Thirty-six places separate Boulter and world number 13 Haddad Maia - seeded second for the San Diego Open - in the current WTA rankings, although Boulter would ask questions on the Brazilian's serve and brought up three break points in the seventh game.
However, the Briton failed to convert any of them and was subsequently broken to love herself before Haddad Maia finished the opening set with a simple hold, and the South American's pressure initially did not let up.
Two break points came and went for Haddad Maia in the opening game of the second set, after which a resurgent Boulter broke to love herself for a 4-2 advantage and lost just one more point on serve to take the contest to the distance.
Despite registering another three double faults in the third set - racking up a total of nine on the day - Boulter shocked Haddad Maia with a double break for a 5-1 lead, and even though the second seed earned one break back, she could not reach a well-executed Boulter forehand on the Briton's first match point.
Either Croatian seventh seed Donna Vekic or Canadian qualifier Marina Stakusic will pit their wits against Boulter in the quarter-finals.
Ben Knapton
