Djokovic, Murray face little challenge

Tennis French Open: Nadal has it easy against Kuznetsov; Kvitova wins

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal moved to within one win of a French Open quarterfinal blockbuster on Saturday as the sport's next generation endured a Grand Slam reality check.

World No 1 and top seed Djokovic reached the last-16 for the sixth straight year with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over 19-year-old Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Defending champion Nadal, chasing a 10th title in Paris, brushed aside Russian World No 120 Andrey Kuznetsov, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2. Third-seeded Andy Murray, twice a semifinalist, was also untroubled as he cruised to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Kokkinakis's 20-year-old compatriot Nick Kyrgios.

It was a chastening day for the sport's youngsters at Roland Garros with Kokkinakis and Kyrgios joined at the exit door by 18-year-old Croatian Borna Coric, defeated by Amercia's Jack Sock, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.

Djokovic, bidding for a first Roland Garros title to complete a career Grand Slam, will face either South African 15th seed Kevin Anderson or French 20th seed Richard Gasquet for a place in the quarterfinals.

There was no sign of the hip problem which bothered him in his second round tie against Gilles Muller as he swept past his World No 84 opponent.

He fired 34 winners and didn't face a single break point in his one-hour, 49-minute win over the highly-rated wildcard.

Nine-time champion Nadal reached the fourth round courtesy of eight breaks of the Kuznetsov serve.

Nadal will tackle unseeded Sock who, at 22, became the youngest American man to make the last-16 since Pete Sampras in 1993.

Kyrgios, the 29th seed and bidding to add a first French Open last-16 place to his runs to the 2014 Wimbledon and 2015 Australian Open quarterfinals, wasn't helped by requiring a medical timeout for an elbow injury late in the second set against Murray.

Murray, who fired 12 aces and 45 winners while Kyrgios was undone by 37 unforced errors, goes on to face unseeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy who surprised 17th seeded Belgian David Goffin 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

Chardy is the fourth Frenchman to make the last-16.
It was 28-year-old Murray's third successive win over Kyrgios, all without dropping a set, as he took his record on clay this year to 13-0.

Marin Cilic, the ninth-seeded US Open champion, continued his quiet progress to reach the fourth round for the third time.

The 26-year-old eased past Leonardo Mayer, the Argentine 23rd seed, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 and will take on either 2013 runner-up David Ferrer or Simone Bolelli for a quarterfinal slot.

Kvitova shines

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova powered into the last 16 on Saturday, finally finding her form after earlier struggles at Roland Garros.

The fourth seed from the Czech Republic outplayed Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3, 6-2 in just 58 minutes, taking the last five games at a canter.

Next up for Kvitova, who also won Wimbledon in 2011, but who has only managed a single semifinal in Paris in 2012, will be a fourth round tie against Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland who upset 16th seeded American Madison Keys 6-4, 6-2.

Also through to the last 16 in early play was Italian Sara Errani, losing finalist in 2012, who gained revenge on Andrea Petkovic of Germany 6-3, 6-3. There was disappointment though for another Italian, 2010 Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone losing 7-5, 6-4 to Andreea Mitu of Romania.

Third round results (prefix denotes seeding): Men’s singles: 20-Richard Gasquet (Fra) bt 15-Kevin Anderson (RSA) 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-5, 6-4; 7-David Ferrer (Esp) bt Simone Bolelli (Italy) 6-3, 1-6, 5-7, 6-0, 6-1; 6-Rafael Nadal (Esp) bt Andrey Kuznetsov (Russia) 6-1, 6-3, 6-2; Jack Sock (US) bt Borna Coric (Cro) 6-2, 6-1, 6-4; Jeremy Chardy (Fra) bt 17-David Goffin (Bel) 6-3, 6-4, 6-2; 1-Novak Djokovic (Srb) bt Thanasi Kokkinakis (Aus) 6-4, 6-4, 6-4; 9-Marin Cilic (Cro) bt 23-Leonardo Mayer (Arg) 6-3, 6-2, 6-4; 3-Andy Murray (Gbr) bt 29-Nick Kyrgios (Aus) 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. Women’s singles: 7-Sara Errani (Ita) bt 10-Andrea Petkovic (Ger) 6-3, 6-3; Julia Goerges (Ger) bt Irina Falconi (US) 6-4, 6-1; Alison Van Uytvanck (Bel) bt Kristina Mladenovic (Fra) 6-4, 6-1; 23-Timea Bacsinszky (Sui) bt 16-Madison Keys (US) 6-4, 6-2; Andreea Mitu (Rom) bt Francesca Schiavone (Ita) 7-5, 6-4; 17-Sara Errani (Ita) bt 10-Andrea Pe­tkovic (Ger) 6-3, 6-3; 4-Petra Kvitova (Cze) bt 30-Irina Begu (Rom) 6-3, 6-2.