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Frenchman Monfils, 37, fired down 10 aces and
deployed the kind of creative shotmaking that has endeared
himself to tennis fans in the California desert for years,
soaking in the applause on a sunny centre court after sealing
the dominant win.
His 19-year-old compatriot Arthur Fils, who advanced with a
straight sets win over Nuno Borges, said Monfils was an
inspiration.
"I don't know how he did that because we were talking before the
match about how Purcell is a very good opponent," Fils told
reporters.
"Then I went to take a nap and woke up and it was 6-1 5-2? I
think everyone on the tour wants to see him play more and more
years.
"It would be very nice to play with him in doubles one day."
Monfils will battle eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in the
second round while Fils faces Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich
Fokina, who is seeded 23rd.
Earlier, Wawrinka fell 7-6(3) 4-6 6-2 to Machac as the Swiss
38-year-old continued his poor recent form.
Wawrinka, who reached a career high of world number three a
decade ago, was unable to match the 23-year-old Czech's level in
the deciding set, his signature one-handed backhand sailing wide
on match point.
Wawrinka lost in the first round of this year's Australian Open,
the second round of the Argentina Open, and the Rio Open first
round before coming to the California desert, where he was a
finalist in 2017.
Machac will play French 21st seed Adrian Mannarino in the second
round on Saturday.
Croatian Borna Coric, Russian Roman Safiullin, China's Shang
Juncheng and American teenager Alex Michelsen were among other
players who advanced to the second round on Thursday before play
was halted for the second consecutive day due to rain.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll, editing by Ed Osmond, Peter
Rutherford)
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