Germany's Alexander Zverev showed why he is considered one of the favourites for the US Open men's singles title with a rapid straight-set win over Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Zverev converted seven of 15 break points, and won 77 of 117 points in the match, to earn a 13th straight victory.

In the third round he will play 31st seed Alexander Bublik or Jack Sock.

Asked if he had been in a rush to finish the match, Zverev joked about having his eye on a Major League Baseball match later.

"I've got a Mets game to watch tonight," he said.

"I know that Albert is somebody that has a lot of wins over top-10 guys, that has beaten [Roger] Federer on a hard court so I know he's a difficult player," Zverev added.

"Once the match went my way the way it went, I did try to play as quick as possible. I did try to not give him time. I did try to keep on pushing."

Zverev was runner-up in last year's US Open, reaching his first Grand Slam final but losing to Austria's Dominic Thiem after squandering a two-set lead.

This year he is aiming to go one step better and land the maiden major title for which he has long been touted.

Winning gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was backed up by another triumph at the Cincinnati Masters last week, ensuring he came into the final Grand Slam of the 2021 season in top form.

Elsewhere on Thursday, Italian sixth seed Matteo Berrettini overcame Frenchman Corentin Moutet in four sets.

The beaten 2021 Wimbledon finalist dominated a first-set tie-break but conceded the second set after being broken in the 10th game.

The 25-year-old world number eight took charge of the third and fourth sets with breaks of serve in the opening games, before clinching his first match point on Moutet's serve for a 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-4 6-3 win.

Berrettini, a US Open semi-finalist in 2019, will face Ilya Ivashka next after the Belarusian beat Canada's Vasek Pospisil 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-5).

Fellow Italian Andreas Seppi came from a set down to knock out Polish 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz.

Seppi prevailed 2-6 6-4 6-4 7-6 (8-6) against the Wimbledon semi-finalist and meets Oscar Otte in the third round following the German's 6-4 6-4 6-2 defeat of American Denis Kudla.