Gilles Simon has continued his Australian Open campaign in comfortable fashion by beating Marcel Granollers 7-6 6-2 6-4.

Simon was the first to make a breakthrough, but Granollers responded well to claim a break of serve and force the tie-break.

The Spaniard edged ahead in the tie-break before a run of four straight points from Simon allowed the 18th seed to take the opener.

Granollers struggled to recover from a disappointing start as he was broken twice in the space of three service games by Simon, who dictated the majority of the rallies between the two players on his way to a comfortable success in the second set.

Simon's form continued to impress the crowd on Court 6, and his display was proving to be too much for Granollers to handle.

Two more breaks of serve for Simon followed in the third set, but Granollers reduced the deficit to keep his slim hopes alive.

However, Simon would ease to the victory which takes him into the third round in Melbourne for the sixth time in his career.