• French Open, Day Four

Djokovic sets up Del Potro showdown in Paris

May 25, 2011

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Novak Djokovic continued his astonishing unbeaten run to set up a mouthwatering third-round clash against former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro.

Djokovic was two sets to the good and firmly on course for victory when his opponent Victor Hanescu retired with a thigh injury.

Hanescu proved a match for the No. 2 seed in the early stages as the Romanian kept pace, but a late break saw Djokovic snatch the opening set. Having clinched the breakthrough, Djokovic raced throught the second set, dropping just three points on serve.

There was little prospect of a comeback on the cards, and after calling the trainer to attend to a thigh problem, the Romanian offered his hand to gift Djokovic a free pass into the the third round, where he will meet a much bigger challenge in the shape of Del Potro.

Djokovic's 6-4 6-1 2-3 win sees him draw level with Roger Federer's record of 41 consecutive victories, but he will not be looking beyond the Argentine - who is steadily climbing up the rankings after a nasty wrist injury last season.

Del Potro, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros in 2009, waltzed to a straight sets 6-3 6-2 6-4 triumph over Slovenian Blaz Kavcic.

Roger Federer looked in ominous form as he cruised into the third round of the French Open with a straight-sets victory over Frenchman Maxime Teixeira.

The world No. 3 won 13 consecutive games as he raced towards a 6-3 6-0 6-2 victory over the world No. 181.

Teixeira, who won his first match at Roland Garros in gruelling five-setter against fellow Frenchman Vincent Millot, started brightly against the 2009 champion, who was pegged back after an early break.

But Federer was in no mood to give his fans three hours of entertainment on Court Suzanne Lenglen as he won three games on the bounce to wrap up the opening set in the blink of an eye.

The 16-time grand slam champion hit his stride and dominated rallies as the Frenchman desperately tried to hang on, but Federer dropped just eight points as he powered through the second set in just 23 minutes.

Teixeira avoided a second bagel late in the final set, but there was no way back against the Swiss, who fired seven aces and hit 33 winners in just an hour and 23 minutes on court. Federer will now meet Janko Tipsarevic in the third round after the Serb rolled past Spaniard Pere Riba 6-1 6-3 6-0.

Gael Monfils had a convincing 6-3 1-6 6-1 6-3 win over fellow Frenchman Guillaume Rufin. The world No. 9 ensured that it was an unhappy birthday for Rufin, whose comeback in the second set was the only highlight in a match otherwise dominated by his compatriot.

Seventh seed David Ferrer made light work of his second round encounter with Julien Bennetteau, cruising to a 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory over the world No. 81. Despite only landing 57% of his first serves, Ferrer was able to win 84% of those points to take a firm grip on the contest from the outset.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was another local player to progress, with the Frenchman proving too good for Igor Andreev. And he was joined in the third round by Richard Gasquet who dug deep to see off Marcel Granollers 4-6 6-3 6-426-4.

The Spaniard will take on Sergiy Stakhovski in the third round at Roland Garros after the Ukranian dispatched with Japan's Kei Nishikori in four sets, 6-1 3-6 6-3 7-6.

The No. 14 seed Stanislas Wawrinka claimed a comfortable 6-3 6-2 6-4 win over Thomas Schoorel, while Mikhail Youzhny proved too good for Mikhail Kukushkin.

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