Merciless Djokovic tramples all over French qualifier

A ruthless Novak Djokovic wasted little time in exposing the gulf of talent with world number 286 Nicolas Devilder as he sprinted into the fourth round of the French Open with a 6-1 6-2 6-2 win on Friday.

A contest pitting the lowest-ranked man left in the draw against the top seed always looked to be a mismatch on paper and so it proved as Djokovic threatened to run away with the match without dropping a game when he romped to a 5-0 lead.

The French qualifier saved his blushes by avoiding a whitewash but the result was never in doubt as Djokovic booked his place in the last 16 against Italian Andreas Seppi.

The Serbian was so sure of his success that he chose to join the crowd in performing a Mexican wave midway through the third set, a stunt which almost backfired as he was immediately stretched to a break point.

As dusk fell over Roland Garros, Djokovic kept his focus and rifled a jaw-dropping forehand winner to end Devilder's charmed life in Roland Garros.

(Reporting by Pritha Sarkar; Editing by Clare Fallon)