Alexander Zverev reached the third round of the US Open in ruthless fashion as he swept past Albert Ramos-Vinolas in New York.
The fourth seed needed just an hour and 14 minutes to record a 6-1 6-0 6-3 win over his beleaguered Spanish opponent and make it 13 victories in a row.
Zverev, who appears the biggest obstacle to Novak Djokovic's hopes of clinching the calendar Grand Slam, is riding a golden wave following his Olympic triumph and lost just nine points on serve in the match.
Clinical.@AlexZverev advances to Round 3 in 74 minutes. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/7wYP9JrQTJ — US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 2, 2021
The German reached his first slam final at Flushing Meadows last year and led Dominic Thiem by two sets to love before the Austrian somehow found a way back.
"It was painful," said Zverev. "I still remember it every single time I walk on this court but I take it as motivation because I'm back here, I have the opportunity to do better, I have the opportunity to hopefully play a great tournament, hopefully play for a grand slam title."
Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini did not have things all his own way against Frenchman Corentin Moutet but came through 7-6 (2) 4-6 6-4 6-3 while 22nd seed Reilly Opelka was a 7-6 (1) 7-5 6-4 winner over young Italian Lorenzo Musetti.
There was a shock on Court Five, where veteran Italian Andreas Seppi, playing in an 18th consecutive US Open, defeated 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz 2-6 6-4 6-4 7-6 (6).
