Alex de Minaur breezes into last 16 at Indian Wells with win over Hubert Hurkacz

Australia's top-ranked tennis player, Alex de Minaur, has cruised into the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

The world number 10, who is seeded ninth for the ATP 1000 event in the California desert, scored an impressive 6-4, 6-0 win over Hubert Hurkacz.

The spoils had been shared at one win apiece in previous meetings, with the Pole taking out their most recent clash in 2019 on the red clay in Madrid.

After a first-round bye and straight-sets victory over Belgian veteran David Goffin, de Minaur broke for the first time in the seventh game of the opening set, before taking it with his only set point.

The second stanza was all de Minaur, breaking the number 21 seed again in the first, third and fifth games to seal the contest in just 74 minutes.

De Minaur, 26, is the only remaining Aussie left in the draw after compatriots Nick Kyrgios, Jordan Thompson, Chris O'Connell, Alexei Popyrin, Alexandar Vukic, Rinky Hijikata, Li Tu and Adam Walton were eliminated earlier in the week.

The nine-time tour winner will next face 25th-seed Francisco Cerundolo, after the Argentine beat Dutchman Botic Van De Zandschulp 7-5, 6-4.

Elsewhere on Monday, Jack Draper survived an early scare to beat Jenson Brooksby 7-5, 6-4 and book his place in the last 16 for the second time in his career.

"Jenson is an unorthodox player, he makes life really difficult," the 23-year-old British number one told atptour.com after throwing his racquet during a first-set outburst.

"He doesn't make the rhythm easy. I got off to a slow start, I missed a couple of opportunities early on. But I'm glad of the way I fought and competed.

"Even though it wasn't my best tennis today, I'm really happy with the way I tried my best to stay cool."

AAP

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