Teen star Zverev storms into last 16

Alexander Zverev has continued his breakout run at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, crushing 16th seed Gilles Simon to reach the fourth round.

The 18-year-old German beat the French veteran 6-2 6-2 in just 67 minutes to set up a potential clash against No.4 seed Rafael Nadal.

What a quality effort from Zverev to roll Simon Sez

— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) March 15, 2016

“I thought I played really well today,” Zverev said.

“I was really ready for a long, long fight and a long three-set match … I’m really happy that I got through so quickly.”

The victory over Simon followed on from his 6-4 3-6 7-5 upset victory over 23rd seed Grigor Dimitrov in the previous round.

#NextGen star #Zverev is youngest man in @BNPParibasOpen 4R since @RyanHarrison92 in 2011. Hopes to be youngest quarterfinalist since 1989.

— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) March 15, 2016

#Zverev owns 3 Top 20 wins on @ATPWorldTour this season:
No 13 Cilic in Montpellier
No 15 Simon in Rotterdam
No 19 Simon @BNPPARIBASOPEN

— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) March 15, 2016

Zverev, ranked No.58, is bidding to become the youngest quarterfinalist at Indian Wells since 1989.

He was recently featured in the ATP World Tour’s #NextGen campaign, which also includes players like Nick Kyrgios, Borna Coric, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Taylor Fritz.

His other notable tournament result was a run to the semifinals of last year’s ATP 500 event in Hamburg as a qualifier.

Zverev on possibly facing Rafa: "He's probably one of greatest fighters ever, so it would be a big honor to play against someone like him."

— TennisNow (@Tennis_Now) March 15, 2016

Big win reminds #Zverev why he loves his job: "I don't think there is any better job for me than tennis" #BNPPO16 pic.twitter.com/iobzkVrZRu

— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 15, 2016