Austria's Dominic Thiem powers his way into last 16 showdown with Kei Nishikori

Seventh seed Dominic Thiem muscled his way into the fourth round of the French Open on Friday, putting out Italian claycourt specialist Marco Berrettini 6-3 6-7(5) 6-3 6-2.

Twitter@ThiemDomi

PARIS: Seventh seed Dominic Thiem muscled his way into the fourth round of the French Open on Friday, putting out Italian claycourt specialist Matteo Berrettini 6-3 6-7(5) 6-3 6-2.

Hitting searing forehands and serves of up to 224 kph (139 mph), Thiem was in combative form on Roland Garros's No. 1 court, dubbed the bullring, eventually running away with the win.

The world number eight, who had a strong build up to the Paris major, winning in Lyon and making the final in Madrid after beating Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals, will take on Japan's Kei Nishikori, the 19th seed, in the last 16.

The win means Thiem has reached the fourth round of the French for the third year in a row but what he will be aiming for is to improve on the two semi-final runs he made over the past two years.