British number four Jack Draper cruised into the quarter-finals of the Lyon Open with a straight-sets win over Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic in the last 16.
Fresh from a comfortable 6-2 6-3 win over Alexandre Muller, Draper prevailed 6-4 7-5 against Kecmanovic, taking one hour and 32 minutes to seal the deal.
Following a five-week absence due to an abdominal injury, which forced him to miss the Madrid Open and Italian Open, Draper was fighting an uphill battle in the first set after being broken by Kecmanovic in the third game.
However, the 21-year-old rallied to win four games on the bounce and take the first set, breaking to love in the 10th and final game on a Kecmanovic double fault.
Neither player could fashion a single break point opportunity for the first 11 games of the second set - where Draper fired three consecutive aces in the ninth - but Kecmanovic's resistance was broken in the 12th game as the 21-year-old progressed.
"I am really happy. I have played two really high-level players and I feel that my game is in a good place, especially after having a few weeks off with injury. Hopefully I can continue," the Briton said on the court.
Draper, who sits 60th in the ATP rankings, will now take on Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo for a spot in the semi-finals.
Ben Knapton
