Alexander Zverev's bid for a third consecutive BMW Open title began in convincing fashion as he defeated Juan Ignacio Londero 7-5 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
World number three Zverev beat Guido Pella in the Munich final in 2017 and fellow German Philipp Kohlschreiber in last year's decider.
And Zverev took his first step en route to another showpiece match with a comfortable win after shaking off Londero's determined early play that saw several breaks of serve traded.
The second set was a breeze and top seed Zverev has now won 10 sets in succession at this ATP 250 event.
"It was fun to play here in Germany," he said. "The crowd is always very, very nice to me and amazing. I was looking forward to it and it was definitely special."
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Cristian Garin has made life tough for better players on clay this season and he represents Zverev's next test after upsetting sixth seed Diego Schwartzman 6-1 7-5.
Third seed Marco Cecchinato is through, having seen off 2014 champion Martin Klizan 6-1 6-3, while Marton Fucsovics also advanced thanks to a 6-7 (7-1) 6-4 6-3 victory over Thiago Monteiro.
At the Estoril Open, top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Guido Andreozzi 6-3 6-4 in the last 16, while third seed Gael Monfils came from behind to win 3-6 6-3 6-0 against Reilly Opelka.
Joao Domingues and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina each recorded impressive wins. Portuguese Domingues led John Millman 6-3 2-1 in the second set when he retired, before Spaniard Davidovich Fokina thrashed Jeremy Chardy 6-1 6-2.
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