MELBOURNE, Australia — Daniil Medvedev didn’t mind the crowd reaction this time.
The No. 2-ranked Medvedev rolled to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win over Botic van de Zandschulp in the third round of the Australian Open on Saturday, two days after a challenging second-round win over Nick Kyrgios.
Medvedev, the U.S. Open champion, was unsettled by the booing and jeering when he took on one of the local favorites but had no such concerns on Margaret Court Arena as he advanced to the fourth round for the fourth straight year in Australia.
“I’ll put it this way. It’s easier to play a guy from Netherlands than a guy from Australia in Australia, in Melbourne,” he told the crowd, before offering some relationship advice to the fans. “Every good relationship must have its ups and downs. I hope it’s going to be more good times than bad times, otherwise it doesn’t work.”
Medvedev, a finalist in 2021, will next face No. 70-ranked Maxime Cressy of the U.S., who is into the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time after a 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-2 win over Australian wildcard entry Chris O’Connell.
In other men’s third-round matches, fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas fended off Benoit Paire 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-4 to set up a fourth-round match against Taylor Fritz. Tsitsipas was runner-up at the French Open and reached the Australian Open semifinals last year.
No. 20-seeded Fritz had a 6-0, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 15 Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the fourth round at a major for the first time. The 24-year-old American, contesting his sixth Australian Open and 22nd major overall, recorded just his second win and seven head-to-head meetings with Bautista Agut, a 33-year-old Spaniard.
No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime had a 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 win over No. 24 Dan Evans, winning 14 of the last 16 games after it was 4-4 in the first set.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.