Zverev Books Raonic Clash In Melbourne

In his third straight Australian Open third round appearance, Alexander Zverev advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time on Saturday.

The Nitto ATP Finals champion, who fell in five sets to Rafael Nadal (2017) and Hyeon Chung (2018) at the same stage over the past two years, needed one hour and 52 minutes to beat Alex Bolt 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. Zverev hit 29 winners, including 14 aces, to overcome Bolt, who was appearing in the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time.

Zverev started well, earning three service breaks to move into a one-set lead after 34 minutes. In a tighter second set, the World No. 4 took advantage of multiple forehand errors from his opponent to gain the only break of the set and take control of the match.

In the third set, Zverev won five straight games from 0-1 to edge closer to victory, which he earned on his first match point as Bolt failed to return a 193km/h body serve.

Zverev will meet Milos Raonic for a place in the quarter-finals. The 21-year-old is tied at 1-1 with Raonic in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

The Canadian No. 1 reached the Australian Open fourth round for the sixth time after just over two hours, landing 51 winners to beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(6). The 16th seed has impressed in his opening three rounds, beating Nick Kyrgios, Stan Wawrinka and Herbert to reach the fourth round.

In 2016, Raonic came within a set of reaching the championship match in Melbourne. The Canadian led Andy Murray by two sets to one before eventually falling to a five-set defeat after four hours and three minutes.