Defending French Open champion Rafael Nadal and Austria’s Dominic Thiem have continued their unblemished starts at the French Open with successive straight sets victories in the third round.

Nadal, the 12-time champion, recorded his 96th Roland Garros win as the world No.2 crushed Italy’s Stefano Travaglia 6-1 6-4 6-0 to ease into the last 16.

Thiem prevailed 6-4 6-3 6-1 against Norway’s Casper Ruud earlier on Court Philippe Chatrier and goes on to face 20-year-old Frenchman Hugo Gaston, who produced the upset of the day.

Qualifier Gaston, who is ranked at 239 in the world, bested 2015 French Open champion Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland over five sets as he fought from a set down to succeed 2-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-0.

It was a good day for Italian players as 19-year-old Jannik Sinner progressed 6-3 7-5 7-5 against Argentina’s Federico Coria while compatriot Lorenzo Sonego defeated American Taylor Fritz after a record tie-break 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 7-6 (19-17).

Nadal will have the chance to equal Roger Federer’s record of 20 grand slams if he goes on to lift the trophy again for a record-extending 13th time.

The Spaniard asserted his dominance on the clay against Travaglia in the first set en route to victory in 1 hour 31 minutes.

Nadal comes up against 20-year-old US qualifier Sebastian Korda, who is the son of the Czech Republic’s 1998 Australian Open winner Petr.

“He’s my biggest idol,” Korda commented on Nadal after his 6-4 6-3 6-1 win over another Spaniard Pedro Martinez.

“He’s one of the reasons I play tennis. Just watching him play, unbelievable competitor. I’m looking forward to it.”

The 27-year-old Thiem is aiming for back-to-back major wins following his maiden success at the US Open.

He has not dropped a set so far in Paris after wins over Marin Cilic and American Jack Sock in the previous rounds.

“I really love this tournament, and I would love to go deep to play well,” Thiem said.

Defending French Open champion Rafael Nadal and Austria’s Dominic Thiem have continued their unblemished starts at the French Open with successive straight sets victories in the third round.

Nadal, the 12-time champion, recorded his 96th Roland Garros win as the world No.2 crushed Italy’s Stefano Travaglia 6-1 6-4 6-0 to ease into the last 16.

Thiem prevailed 6-4 6-3 6-1 against Norway’s Casper Ruud earlier on Court Philippe Chatrier and goes on to face 20-year-old Frenchman Hugo Gaston, who produced the upset of the day.

Qualifier Gaston, who is ranked at 239 in the world, bested 2015 French Open champion Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland over five sets as he fought from a set down to succeed 2-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-0.

It was a good day for Italian players as 19-year-old Jannik Sinner progressed 6-3 7-5 7-5 against Argentina’s Federico Coria while compatriot Lorenzo Sonego defeated American Taylor Fritz after a record tie-break 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 7-6 (19-17).

Nadal will have the chance to equal Roger Federer’s record of 20 grand slams if he goes on to lift the trophy again for a record-extending 13th time.

The Spaniard asserted his dominance on the clay against Travaglia in the first set en route to victory in 1 hour 31 minutes.

Nadal comes up against 20-year-old US qualifier Sebastian Korda, who is the son of the Czech Republic’s 1998 Australian Open winner Petr.

“He’s my biggest idol,” Korda commented on Nadal after his 6-4 6-3 6-1 win over another Spaniard Pedro Martinez.

“He’s one of the reasons I play tennis. Just watching him play, unbelievable competitor. I’m looking forward to it.”

The 27-year-old Thiem is aiming for back-to-back major wins following his maiden success at the US Open.

He has not dropped a set so far in Paris after wins over Marin Cilic and American Jack Sock in the previous rounds.

Tweet from @rolandgarros

“I really love this tournament, and I would love to go deep to play well,” Thiem said.

-AAP