British number one Jack Draper made comfortable progress to the last 16 at Queen’s with a 6-3 6-1 victory over American Jenson Brooksby, while top seed Carlos Alcaraz also advanced.
Spanish world number two Alcaraz was pushed well by determined lucky loser Adam Walton but got the job done in the end with a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) victory.
Draper and Brooksby were meeting for the second time this year, with Draper beating the 24-year-old at Indian Wells in March.
On that occasion Draper had to recover from going 4-1 down in the first set but there was no such trouble this time as he broke Brooksby’s serve in the seventh game before grabbing the double break to seal the set.
It was once again sweltering conditions in west London with the temperature at 26C when Draper and Brooksby entered the Andy Murray Arena, but the addition of a gentle breeze would have made things more palatable for the players.
But Draper still had no desire to hang around too long on court.
He broke Brooksby on his first service game and continued his momentum after a pause in play for a medical issue in the stands to get a second break and seal the win.
Draper, who wrote “Good to be home” on the television camera afterwards, will next face Australian Alexei Popyrin for a place in the quarter-finals.
The 23-year-old is hoping to emulate Murray and win at Queen’s Club. Murray’s success as a five-time singles champion there has been honoured this year by having the venue’s centre court named after him.
“Can’t get rid of this guy,” Draper joked about playing in the Andy Murray Arena. “Andy is an unbelievable guy, someone I’m very inspired by and I wouldn’t be where I am without him.
“I definitely miss him on the Tour. Thank you Andy, this court deserves to be named after you.”
Draper’s compatriot Billy Harris, who reached the quarter-finals of the tournament last year, was beaten 6-1 3-6 6-4 by Gabriel Diallo of Canada.
In other action on Tuesday, there were upsets for American duo Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton as they both went out.
Third seed Fritz came into this tournament on the back of winning the Stuttgart Open but was beaten by qualifier Corentin Moutet of France 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (9-7) 7-5. Sixth seed Shelton was stunned by lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech of France 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4).
Rinderknech will next play Reilly Opelka of the United States after he beat Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.
Czech Jiri Lehecka saw off Australian fifth seed Alex de Minaur 6-4 6-2 to progress to the last 16, while American Brandon Nakashima needed three sets to overcome Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France 6-7 (10-12) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
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