David Ferrer, the workmanlike Spaniard and No. 5 seed, made quick work of Florian Mayer, a tall and lanky, even awkward, German ranked 27th in the world, 6-1, 6-2, 7-6. With the convincing win, Ferrer, a semifinalist at the 2007 US Open, continued his quiet but steady march to the round of 16.

On the first humid and sweltering day of the Open, the scrappy, scrambling Ferrer – for whom a sweaty day at the office is just part of the job – yanked his taller opponent around the court, with a variety of groundstrokes deep to the corners.

The compact and energetic Spaniard seemed to have an answer for everything that Mayer, who owns one of the more unorthodox games on tour, threw at him. The German righthander possesses a high, loopy windup on the forehand; from the backhand wing, his preferred shot is a jumping, two-handed underspin hack. Frequently from that leaping position, Mayer lofts little touch drop shots.

Mayer’s game is reminiscent of the anti-stylings of South Africa’s Wayne Ferreira, a pesky player from the Sampras-Agassi era. Like Ferreira, Mayer’s approach can be unexpectedly effective.

Mayer, who earlier this year broke into the top 20 for the first time in his career, had twice previously defeated Ferrer, although those matches date to 2004 and 2005. Ferrer then won the next three meetings, all in straight sets.

The German managed a service break in the third set and briefly extended the match by taking it to a tiebreak. But Ferrer, in a hurry to get to the locker room and into the fourth round, ran away with the breaker, 7-2.  

• David Ferrer Bio
• Florian Mayer Bio