Gilles Simon defeats Fabio Fognini in Madrid

France's Gilles Simon moved into the final 32 of the Madrid Open at the expense of Fabio Fognini this afternoon.

Both players started the match brightly as service games were traded on numerous occasions.

As a result, the opening set headed into a tie-break, which Italian Fognini emerged victorious from courtesy of a 7-1 success.

Simon's response was positive and he went on to break Fognini early in the next set. A further break followed as Simon levelled up the match with a 6-3 triumph.

The deciding set mimicked the previous one as Simon advanced through courtesy of 6-7 6-3 6-3 victory.

The world number 11 will now face Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the next round.