Alexander Zverev advanced to the third round for the seventh time on Thursday after easily defeating the Slovakian Alex Molcan 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 to preserve his outstanding record at Roland Garros. After an hour and 58 minutes of play in their first ATP Head2Head match, Zverev opened his shoulders to hit through Molcan, hitting 42 winners in the night session on Court Philippe-Chatrier to progress.
Zverev, who lost his right ankle against Rafael Nadal in the last four of last year's tournament, has reached the semifinals twice in Paris. The 26-year-old is now totally fit and firing at Roland Garros, where he will play Frances Tiafoe in the third round, twelve months after his injury. The 12th-seeded American defeated Aslan Karatsev, who had just reached the semifinals in Madrid, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2, to reach the third round for the third time.
Zverev currently has a 25-7 record at Roland Garros after defeating Lloyd Harris in straight sets in his first-round encounter. The 22nd seed advanced to the semifinals on hard in Dubai and on clay in Geneva earlier this season.