PARIS -- Down 4-1 in the third set, Alexander Zverev decided it was time to shorten his match at the French Open.
He was determined to avoid another lengthy fight following a five-set battle in the previous round, so he applied pressure on qualifier Roman Safiullin. The sixth-seeded German won the next game at love, broke back by pushing his rival into unforced errors and was nearly flawless in the tiebreaker.
The reward was a 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (1) victory to advance into the third round at Roland Garros.
"I'm happy to be through in three sets. I'm happy not to have played another five-setter," Zverev said. "I think it's going to be important for me during the course of this tournament."
Zverev, facing a rival he has known since their days in the boys' categories, dropped his serve three times on Court Suzanne Lenglen but managed to catch up with Safiullin. It wasn't smooth -- he hit 10 double-faults and challenged several calls -- but he kept his cool when it mattered. He finished with 15 aces.
A 25-shot rally in the final tiebreaker epitomized Zverev's combative attitude. First on the defensive, Zverev turned it around and won the point with a passing shot. He took the next five points to seal the match and extend his perfect record against qualifiers to four matches on the Paris clay.
Zverev, the 2020 U.S. Open runner-up, has been in excellent form in the buildup to the clay-court major. He is among the top contenders in Paris following his title in Madrid, where he beat Rafael Nadal.
Zverev was joined in the third round by Daniil Medvedev and American Stevie Johnson, who both won their matches in the night session.
Medvedev reached the third round in Paris for the first time by coming back from a poor start to eliminate Tommy Paul of the U.S. by a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 score Wednesday night.
The No. 2-seeded Medvedev carried an 0-4 record at the French Open into this year's draw. But he is 2-0 in Week 1 this time so far.
Johnson, who arrived at Roland Garros with an 0-5 record in ATP and Challenger Tour matches this season, edged Thiago Monteiro of Brazil 6-3, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-3 on Wednesday night.
Qualifier Henri Laaksonen, who hit 53 winners to upset 11th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. The 29-year-old Swiss had never beaten a top 20 player before.
"I was not expecting that I'd win today," Laaksonen said. "It's a great result. I want to improve my game and let's see what happens."
Kei Nishikori of Japan was taken to five sets for the second consecutive match before downing the big-hitting Karen Khachanov 4-6, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. The 23rd-seeded Khachanov was treated by a trainer in the fifth set after cutting his right middle finger by hitting his racket strings in anger.
Nishikori extended his record in five-set matches to 26-7.
For the third straight year, Stefanos Tsitsipas will be playing in the third round at Roland Garros following another straight-set win.
The fifth-seeded Greek player excelled at the net and saved 11 break points to defeat solid baseliner Pedro Martinez of Spain 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.
Tsitsipas achieved his best result in Paris last year when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. He arrived in the French capital this year on the back of an excellent clay-court campaign that included titles in Monte Carlo and Lyon.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.