Alexander Zverev needed just 1 hour, 43 minutes to defeat Adrian Mannarino on Friday at Rod Laver Arena and move on to the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Zverev, the No. 6 seed who made the semifinals of last year’s tournament, had 19 aces and 35 winners en route to a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 victory. He is chasing his first career Grand Slam title.
Zverev had three wins over Mannarino in 2020, including a four-set victory in the third round of the US Open in September.
“I’m very happy,” Zverev said after Friday’s win. “I played him three times last year, and they were all long and difficult matches. Today, I decided that I’d hit the ball a bit harder.”
Zverev, 23, next will face No. 23 seed Dusan Lajovic or Spain’s Pedro Martinez, who played later Friday.
In other men’s matches, No. 18 seed Grigor Dimitrov advanced to the fourth round when Pablo Carreno Busta retired due to an injury in the second set. Dimitrov led 6-0, 1-0 when Carreno Busta withdrew.