British number one Jack Draper stormed into the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open with a dominant victory over Christopher O’Connell.
Draper did not face a single break point and needed just 59 minutes to wrap up a 6-2 6-1 win against the Australian.
The world number 16 is playing his first tournament since retiring injured from his fourth-round meeting with Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz at January’s Australian Open.
He broke serve in the first game of the match and again at 4-2 before serving out the opener, while O’Connell won just one game in the second.
Draper will face Tallon Griekspoor or Matteo Berrettini, who knocked out Novak Djokovic in straight sets on Tuesday, in the last eight.
The 23-year-old remains on course for a semi-final encounter with Alcaraz, who beat Italy’s Luca Nardi 6-1 4-6 6-3 later on Wednesday.
Four-time major winner Alcaraz is now on a 12-match winning streak at ATP 500 events and will play Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic in the last eight.
Elsewhere in Doha, Alex de Minaur claimed his 200th tour-level hard-court win with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Botic van de Zandschulp to set up a quarter-final against fifth seed Andrey Rublev, who beat Nuno Borges 6-3 6-4.
World number six Daniil Medvedev defeated Zizou Bergs 6-2 6-1 and will face Felix Auger-Aliassime, after the Canadian was handed a walkover as Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic withdrew because of injury.
