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Djokovic destroys Pella to march on
Novak Djokovic's French Open credentials were given the lightest of examinations in a 6-2, 6-0, 6-2 second-round win over Argentina'a Guido Pella on Thursday.
The world number one had the stronger weapons and pushed his opponent on to the back foot with his superior courtcraft in a match that lasted just one hour and 26 minutes after being delayed by rain and then halted again when the downpours returned.
After the players traded blows at the start of the match, Djokovic won 11 games in a row, taking the first and second sets.
The crowd rose in unison to applaud the 101st-ranked Pella when he won a game in the second game of the third set but it was a short-lived reprieve as the Serb closed the match out.
Sharapova made to wait
Maria Sharapova was 6-2, 4-2 up against Canada's Eugenie Bouchard when rain stopped play.
The match will now be completed on Friday.
The second seeded Russian is the event's defending champion.
Former champion Li Na knocked out by Mattek-Sands
China's only grand slam singles champion Li Na was bundled out of the French Open by American Bethanie Mattek-Sands on Thursday, losing a rain-interrupted match 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.
Sixth seed Li, who became a flagbearer for Asian tennis in 2011 when she won the French Open, edged the first set but after two lengthy rain breaks her game fell apart.
Mattek-Sands, wearing knee-high black socks, resumed after the second interruption 4-3 ahead in the second set and then reeled off seven games in a row.
Li eventually stopped the rot to break serve as Mattek-Sands served for the match at 5-0 and then held her own to reduce the deficit but her revival came too late.
With rain still falling and play stopped on many other courts the 66th-ranked American held her nerve and sealed victory when her opponent netted a forehand.
Azarenka survives lapse to ease through
Third seed Victoria Azarenka overcame a first-set stumble to reach the French Open third round with a rain-disrupted 6-4, 6-3 win over German Annika Beck on Thursday.
The Belarussian, Australian Open champion the last two years, raced to a 5-0 lead and was 5-1 up when the match was interrupted by rain on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Beck benefited from a series of unforced errors from Azarenka to reduce the gap and led 30-0 on her opponent's serve at 5-4 when the world number three regained composure and clinched the opening set after 69 minutes.
The second set was straightforward as Azarenka booked a third-round meeting with French 31st seed Alize Cornet or Spain's Silvia Soler-Espinosa.
Shvedova joined the casualty list
Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova became the day's first seed to fall, the 27th seed losing to Argentina's Paula Ormaechea.
Earlier Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun had to withdraw from the tournament with an ankle injury before he took to court to face 16th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Victor Hanescu of Romania also benefitted from another player's ill-fortune when his second-round opponent Dmitry Tursunov was forced to retire trailing 6-4, 6-6.
Tournament organisers managed to get the schedule back on track on Wednesday after 11 matches were cancelled by rain on Tuesday. The third round is supposed to start on Friday.
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