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By Julien Pretot
PARIS, June 1 - World number three Novak Djokovic
booked his place in the quarter-finals of the French Open with a
convincing 6-4 6-3 6-4 win over local favourite Paul-Henri
Mathieu on Sunday.
The Australian Open champion held his nerve in the key
moments of the match to set up a meeting with Latvian hopeful
Ernests Gulbis.
"I was serving very well and it's very encouraging for the
continuation of the tournament," the Serbian said in a courtside
interview.
"This is something I definitely want to have as a weapon,"
added the third-seeded Serb, who served 14 aces on Sunday.
Mathieu, seeded 18, added: "It was really hard for me to
read his serve. He is booming with confidence and deserves his
win.
"He is one of the very few players in front of whom you feel
as if you're suffocating."
Mathieu saved two break points in the fifth game but as he
struggled with his first serve, he fell behind when he sent a
forehand long on the third.
The Frenchman went 40-0 up on Djokovic's serve in the 10th
but the Serb rallied to deuce with a service winner and two aces
before claiming the opening set after 51 minutes when Mathieu
netted an easy forehand.
Rain suspended play for 25 minutes with the score tied at
2-2 in the second set and upon resumption, Djokovic and Mathieu
traded breaks.
But it was the Frenchman who found himself trailing again
after dropping serve for the third time in the match in the
seventh game.
In the following game Mathieu earned four break points but
was left to rue his chances as he could not convert any,
squandering the last one by netting another easy forehand.
Djokovic tightened his grip on the match when he broke again
to snatch the set.
Mathieu kept trying in the third set, saving four break
points to hold until 4-4.
But he could not break down the dogged resistance of
Djokovic, who simply waited for Mathieu to net yet another easy
forehand to seal the win on his first match point after two
hours and 20 minutes.
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)