Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal race into round four at French Open

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal remain on course for a quarter-final clash at the French Open after the defending champion and the 13-time champion coasted past their opponents in the third round at Roland Garros.

Djokovic powered past Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia 6-3 6-3 6-2. The top seed and world number one was on the court for less than two hours and next plays 15th seed Diego Schwartzmann of Argentina in his title defence.

Bedene, ranked 195th in the world after an eight-month layoff and a return to action in March, was no match for Djokovic's power and near-flawless service games. The Serb wasted three break points at 2-1 in the first set but he quickly got another chance to breeze through it in just over 30 minutes.

He got two more breaks in the second to clinch it as quickly as the first, with Bedene failing to carve out a single break chance throughout the match, and winning just five points on Djokovic's serve in the first two sets.

The third set went in similar fashion, with Djokovic breaking early and Bedene, who made twice as many unforced errors as his opponent, failing to respond before the Serb wrapped up proceedings when the Slovenian sunk a forehand into the net

Placement perfection