Taylor Fritz continued his smooth progress at Wimbledon by defeating fellow American Patrick Kypson 6-2 6-2 7-5 to make the third round on Thursday and remain on course for a maiden Grand Slam title.
Fritz, last year's semi-finalist, recorded his best result at the All England Club 12 months ago and the sixth seed followed up his straight-sets win over lucky loser Dusan Lajovic in the previous round with another convincing display to emerge as a dark horse.
The gulf in class on Court Two became evident early as Fritz eased through the opening two stanzas with minimum fuss, but the 28-year-old encountered a lot more resistance from world number 113 Kypson in the third set.
After losing a six-deuce game to let Kypson off the hook and draw level at 4-4, Fritz shifted gears again in the 12th game to close out the victory and book a meeting with either Canadian Gabriel Diallo or Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the next round.
Elsewhere, fifth seed Alex de Minaur dispatched tricky Frenchman Adrian Mannarino with ease to reach the third round and the draw offers him hope of making his deepest run yet.
"I'm super stoked, super grateful to be playing some great tennis here in London," the 27-year-old Australian said after his 6-3 6-2 6-2 win on Court Three where he received almost home levels of support thanks to his fiancee being British player Katie Boulter.
De Minaur, one of the best movers in the sport and whose all-court game is a good fit for grass, is yet to drop a set in his opening two rounds.
He will face either Zachary Svajda or Kamil Majchrzak in his next outing.
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