Thiem cruises past Mayer in Nice

Dominic Thiem remains on course to defend his Open de Nice Cote d'Azur title after comfortably beating Leonardo Mayer in straight sets on Wednesday.

In a repeat of the 2015 final, Thiem dominated his opponent, winning nine successive games to complete a comprehensive 6-3 6-0 round-two victory.

Young prospect Alexander Zverev continued to impress on the clay as he booked a last-eight berth at the expense of Marcel Granollers in a 7-5 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 triumph.

Having beaten Grigor Dimitrov, David Goffin and Lukas Rosol in recent tournaments, Zverev was too good for his Spanish opponent as he dominated the deciding set.

Zverev progresses to the quarters for a clash with Gilles Simon after he ended Taylor Fritz's maiden clay-court tournament with a 6-4 6-4 win.

Wednesday's other match saw seventh seed Andreas Seppi beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 4-6 6-2 6-4, and the Italian will next face Thiem.