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Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 2, 2017 Spain's Rafael Nadal in action during his third round match against Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili. Reuters photo.
Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal lost just one game in a ruthless display to reach the French Open last 16 on Thursday, but title-holder Novak Djokovic needed five sets to survive.
The Spaniard romped to a 6-0, 6-1, 6-0 win over Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Nadal will meet compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Reigning champion Djokovic escaped trouble against Diego Schwartzman, the second seed rallying from two sets to one down to prevail 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1.
Djokovic goes on to face Frenchman Lucas Pouille or Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas in round four. Canadian fifth seed Milos Raonic advanced to the last 16 when Guillermo Garcia-Lopez retired with a thigh injury in the second set.
Raonic led 6-1, 1-0 before the veteran Spaniard, ranked 153, quit after just 28 minutes.
He will play Spanish 20th seed Pablo Carreno Busta, who dumped out Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
Dominic Thiem brushed past American 25th seed Steve Johnson 6-1, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
Belgian 10th seed David Goffin suffered a nasty ankle injury when he got caught up in court covers, forcing him to abandon his third-round tie with Horacio Zeballos of Argentina.
Goffin was leading 5-4 when he chased down the ball towards the back of the Suzanne Lenglen court.
Reigning women's champion Garbine Muguruza beat Kazakh 27th seed Yulia Putintseva 7-5, 6-2.
Muguruza plays French 13th seed Kristina Mladenovic, who rallied from 5-2 down in the third set to beat American Shelby Rogers, for a place in the last eight.
Australian 23rd Samantha Stosur breezed intothe fourth round with a 6-2, 6-2 rout of American qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Purav-Divij in last-16
The Indian pair of Purav Raja and Divij Sharan advanced to the men’s doubles pre-quarterfinals after an upset win but their senior compatriot Leander Paes ended his campaign on Friday.
India’s Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig of Croatia beat the Croatian combo of Darija Jurak and Mate Pavic 7-5, 6-3 in their opening round match.
In men’s doubles, unseeded Raja and Sharan upstaged Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to enter men’s doubles pre-quarterfinals.
In another second round men’s doubles match, Paes and his American partner Scott Lipsky lost 6-7, 2-6 to crash out of the tournament. Paes and Martina Hingis of Switzerland also lost their mixed doubles opening round match to fourth seed Katarina Srebotnik and Raven Klaasen 4-6, 6-1, 2-10.
Rohan Bopanna and his partner Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay, however, advanced to the pre-quaterfinals with a hard-fought 5-7, 7-6, 6-4 win over the pair of Treat Huey (Philippines) and Denis Istomin (Uzbekistan).
The Spaniard romped to a 6-0, 6-1, 6-0 win over Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Nadal will meet compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Reigning champion Djokovic escaped trouble against Diego Schwartzman, the second seed rallying from two sets to one down to prevail 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1.
Djokovic goes on to face Frenchman Lucas Pouille or Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas in round four. Canadian fifth seed Milos Raonic advanced to the last 16 when Guillermo Garcia-Lopez retired with a thigh injury in the second set.
Raonic led 6-1, 1-0 before the veteran Spaniard, ranked 153, quit after just 28 minutes.
He will play Spanish 20th seed Pablo Carreno Busta, who dumped out Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
Dominic Thiem brushed past American 25th seed Steve Johnson 6-1, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
Belgian 10th seed David Goffin suffered a nasty ankle injury when he got caught up in court covers, forcing him to abandon his third-round tie with Horacio Zeballos of Argentina.
Goffin was leading 5-4 when he chased down the ball towards the back of the Suzanne Lenglen court.
Reigning women's champion Garbine Muguruza beat Kazakh 27th seed Yulia Putintseva 7-5, 6-2.
Muguruza plays French 13th seed Kristina Mladenovic, who rallied from 5-2 down in the third set to beat American Shelby Rogers, for a place in the last eight.
Australian 23rd Samantha Stosur breezed intothe fourth round with a 6-2, 6-2 rout of American qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Purav-Divij in last-16
The Indian pair of Purav Raja and Divij Sharan advanced to the men’s doubles pre-quarterfinals after an upset win but their senior compatriot Leander Paes ended his campaign on Friday.
India’s Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig of Croatia beat the Croatian combo of Darija Jurak and Mate Pavic 7-5, 6-3 in their opening round match.
In men’s doubles, unseeded Raja and Sharan upstaged Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to enter men’s doubles pre-quarterfinals.
In another second round men’s doubles match, Paes and his American partner Scott Lipsky lost 6-7, 2-6 to crash out of the tournament. Paes and Martina Hingis of Switzerland also lost their mixed doubles opening round match to fourth seed Katarina Srebotnik and Raven Klaasen 4-6, 6-1, 2-10.
Rohan Bopanna and his partner Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay, however, advanced to the pre-quaterfinals with a hard-fought 5-7, 7-6, 6-4 win over the pair of Treat Huey (Philippines) and Denis Istomin (Uzbekistan).
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