Top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga showed no mercy on Thursday, putting out home hope Zhang Ze 6-3, 6-4 to ease into the quarter-finals of the China Open.
The Frenchman, who won his sixth career title last month in Metz, will next face former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, who put out compatriot Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-4.
Tsonga, the world number seven, won in 76 minutes, firing eight aces and breaking his opponent’s serve three times as the gap in experience showed.
Ferrero, who has slipped to 84 in the rankings, took his career record over Granollers to 5-0.
In the women’s draw, 11th seed Agnieszka Radwanska stepped up her bid for a second straight Asian trophy after winning in Tokyo last week, putting out Swede Sofia Arvidsson 6-4, 6-2.
Radwanska, winner of two titles this season, remains in the hunt for a year-end finals place at the WTA Championships in Istanbul.
But the Pole admits that burnout at this stage of the season remains a danger.
“It’s always tough, especially now in the end of the year. Everybody’s pretty tired, and some of us are still fighting for the championships. Everybody wants to play everything, we’re playing a lot.
“The season is ten months, which is really long. It’s hard to be in shape.”
Romanian Monica Niculescu, who earlier accounted for China’s French Open winner Li Na, came back from a set down to beat France’s Virginie Razzano 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Russian Maria Kirilenko beat Austrian Tamira Paszek 6-1, 6-2.
