Ruthless rafa at his best

Top seed Nadal beats Gasquet in straight sets to reach 4th round; Del Potro, Cilic advance

Defending champion Rafael Nadal has advanced to the fourth round of the French Open with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win against Richard Gasquet, improving to 16-0 against the Frenchman.

The 27th-seeded Gasquet trailed 5-0 in the first set before winning the next three games and moving 30-0 ahead on Nadal's serve.

It was only a brief rally, as Nadal responded in his usual clinical way.

He streaked ahead 4-0 in the second set and did the same in the third before Gasquet finally held serve after a long fifth game. After earning applause from Nadal following a superb cushioned drop shot at the net, he ended that game with an ace.

Nadal clinched victory on his first match point when Gasquet chopped a backhand long. He has now failed to even take a set off Nadal in 11 straight matches.

The top-ranked Spaniard is chasing a record-extending 11th title at Roland Garros. He next faces unseeded German Maximilian Marterer in their first career meeting.

In other matches, Juan Martin Del Potro has eased into the fourth round of the French Open by beating No 31 Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-5, 6-4, 6-1.

The fifth-seeded Argentine is looking in strong form as he eyes a potential semifinal showdown with Rafael Nadal.

Del Potro had eight aces and broke his Spanish opponent's serve six times on Court Philippe Chatrier, taking just 29 minutes to win the third set.

Del Potro next plays either ninth-seeded American John Isner or unseeded Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

The big-serving Isner has won the first set 7-6 (1).

Marin Cilic has moved into the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament for the 20th time, eliminating Steve Johnson of the US 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 at the French Open.

The No 3-seeded Croat won the 2014 US Open and has reached the final at two of the past three majors - Wimbledon last year and the Australian Open in January. He will face No 18 Fabio Fognini next.

David Goffin saved four match points, holding his nerve against a partisan French crowd, in beating Gael Monfils of France 6-7 (6), 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 for a place in the fourth round.

From being on the precipice of defeat when serving at 4-5 in the fourth set, the eighth-seeded Belgian then profited when Monfils lost his cool.

Goffin next plays Marco Cecchinato of Italy.

Mischa Zverev couldn't keep up with younger brother Alexander at the French Open, ending their bid to become the first siblings in 27 years to reach the fourth round at the same Grand Slam tournament.

The 64th-ranked Mischa lost in the third round to 2017 US Open runner-up Kevin Anderson 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (4) on Saturday.

The Zverevs could have been just the third pair of brothers to reach the round of 16 at the same major in the 50-year Open era.

Alexander, who is seeded No 2 at Roland Garros, won his third-round match Friday.

Anderson is into the fourth round in Paris for the fourth time; he's never made it past that stage. He'll next face No 11 seed Diego Schwartzman, a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 winner against Borna Coric.

Fabio Fognini is through to the French Open fourth round, giving Italy two players among the last 16 men for the first time since 1976.

Fognini, sporting an eye-catching red T-shirt with black thunderbolts on the front and back, beat 16th-seeded Briton Kyle Edmund 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

The other Italian in the fourth round is Marco Cecchinato.

Unseeded Karen Khachanov of Russia has reached the French Open's round of 16 for the second consecutive year, eliminating 15th-seeded Lucas Pouille of France 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 in the resumption of a suspended match. He will try to reach a major quarterfinal for the first time, facing No 2-seeded Alexander Zverev next.