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German sixth seed Alexander Zverev has won through to the fourth round of the Australian Open for a fifth time after defeating American teenager Alex Michelsen.

German sixth seed Alexander Zverev has brushed aside drama in his personal life to win through to the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Except for a brief period in the second set, Olympic champion Zverev had it mostly all his own way during a commanding 6-2 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 win against 19-year-old American prospect Alex Michelsen on Rod Laver Arena on Saturday night.

The 26-year-old will meet Englishman Cameron Norrie in the fourth round after the 19th seed knocked out highly-rated Norwegian Casper Ruud in four sets.

Zverev has been under scrutiny since German news outlets reported earlier this week he would stand trial in May, during the French Open, after he was ordered to pay fines of 450,000 Euros ($A750,000) over an alleged assault of a former partner.

He contested that fine against him, forcing the case to trial.

The only questions Zverev received in English at press conferences after his wins in the previous two rounds were about the court case, prompting a terse response from the one-time grand slam finalist.

After making the semi finals of the 2020 Australian Open, Zverev exited in the second round at Melbourne Park last year.

But it is his fifth time in the fourth round of the Open, with Boris Becker the only German man to have done it more times in Australia.