Gael Monfils cruises in Indian Wells opener

Veteran Frenchman Gael Monfils was in top form Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open, routing Australia's Max Purcell 6-1, 6-2 in first-round action at Indian Wells, Calif.

Monfils, 37, is playing the event for the 15th time, with his best results being quarterfinal appearances in 2016 and 2019.

Monfils racked up a 10-0 advantage in aces and a 13-5 edge in winners, while Purcell had more unforced errors (21-13). Monfils also saved the only break point he faced.

"I thought today I (played) a very good match," Monfils said on court postmatch. "We had a tough first game, but I held it very good. Felt good, moved good, definitely served good. I stuck to my game plan and it worked amazing."

Next up for Monfils is eighth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland. The tournament's 32 seeded players all received first-round byes.

In other Thursday action, the Czech Republic's Tomas Machac beat three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-2.

Another Czech player, 18-year-old Jakub Mensik, defeated South Korean qualifier Seong-Chan Hong 6-3, 6-4. Mensik is playing his first event since reaching the final at Doha, Qatar, last month.

The United States' Alex Michelsen topped Spain's Jaume Munar 6-2, 6-3, but two other U.S. players dropped their opening matches to qualifiers. Brazil's Thiago Seyboth Wild blitzed J.J. Wolf 6-2, 6-1, and France's Constant Lestienne got past U.S. qualifier Denis Kudla 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Other first-round winners included France's Arthur Fils and qualifier Lucas Pouille, Croatia's Borna Coric, Serbia's Dusan Lajovic, Russia's Roman Safiullin, Chinese qualifier Juncheng Shang, Italy's Lorenzo Sonego and Australia's Aleksandar Vukic.