Dan Evans made the last 16 of the Qatar Open with a commanding straight-set win over Egor Gerasimov.

Evans, Britain’s number one and ranked 28th in the world, claimed a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Gerasimov in his first match since a third-round exit at the Australian Open last month.

It was plain sailing for Evans from the start and he broke in the fifth game of the first set and again early in the second, holding his serve to take control.

Tunisian Malek Jaziri or Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who play on Monday, are waiting for Evans in the next round.