Houston, TX, USA, 9 April 2015 | tennis.com.au

Top seed Feliciano Lopez has ousted Australia’s Sam Groth in the second round of the US Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston, Texas.

Lopez, ranked 12th, beat the big-serving Victorian 6-3 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals of the ATP 250-level event.

He will next face No.8 seed Sam Querrey.

Groth had earlier in the tournament won his first ATP-level claycourt match when he beat Victor Estrella Burgos in the opening round.

But against Lopez, Groth’s serve was nullified; his ace tally was unusually restricted to single figures and he won less than three-quarters of points on his first serve.

Lopez sealed victory in one hour and six minutes.