Kuznetsova and Azarenka sail thru PARIS — A ruthless Novak Djokovic wasted little time in exposing the gulf of talent with world No. 286 Nicolas Devilder as he sprinted into the fourth round of the French Open with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win 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. Roger Federer, meanwhile, eked out a win despite being far from his best. Victoria Azarenka, the top-ranked woman, had much easier path to victory. Federer, the 2009 champion at Roland Garros, was pushed to four sets Friday for the second straight match, this time beating Nicolas Mahut of France 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the third round. “I think for bigger guys it's about, if you're able to move them around enough and they have to defend time and time again, this is maybe where you can expose some of their weaknesses potentially,” Federer said. “I thought he did well. (I) struggled a little bit, but overall obviously I'm happy I came through.” With the win, Federer improved his record number of Grand Slam match wins to 235. The 16-time Grand Slam champion is trying to become the first man over 30 years old to win a major title since Andre Agassi in 2003 at the Australian Open. For Mahut, it was the first time he has ever won a set against Federer in four matches. “I was believing in it. I was maybe a bit nervous going into that center court, but this went well,” Mahut said. “But I'm disappointed, because you always want to do better. Disappointed I didn't win that fourth set.” No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, No. 7 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic and No. 9 Juan Martin del Potro also won, while No. 11 Gilles Simon lost. Azarenka reached the fourth round in the woman's draw, while Maria Sharapova advanced to the third round. But the big surprises came early in the day when third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska and 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic were eliminated. Two days after beating seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, Radwanska was routed by 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-2. On Court Philippe Chatrier, the 23-year-old Pole didn't look anything like the player who overwhelmed Venus in straight sets Wednesday. “She was just playing very aggressive on both sides,” Radwanska said of Kuznetsova. “She just had (an) answer for everything I was trying to do.” Radwanska has been having a stellar year on tour, winning three titles and moving up to a career-high No. 3 ranking last month. But she is the only player in the top 10 who has never reached a Grand Slam semifinal. Kuznetsova, who also won the US Open in 2004, has struggled since winning the title at Roland Garros three years ago, only reaching one Grand Slam quarterfinal. In the second round, Sharapova advanced with another straight-forward, straight-set victory. Three days after scoring a “double bagel” in the first round, the second-seeded Sharapova defeated Ayumi Morita of Japan 6-1, 6-1. “I really wanted to try to get her on the move. I thought I played well, aggressive, moved in when I had to,” Sharapova said. Last year, she lost in the semifinals at the French Open. Also in the third round, the 13th-seeded Ivanovic lost to Sara Errani of Italy 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. The former top-ranked player committed 37 of her 40 unforced errors in the final two sets. Errani had only 18. No. 6 Sam Stosur, the 2010 runner-up, advanced as well. American teen Sloane Stephens also advanced to the fourth round, beating Mathilde Johansson of France 6-3, 6-2. Of the eight teenagers in this year's draw, the 19-year-old Stephens was the only one to even reach the third round. Serena Williams, meanwhile, suffered another French Open defeat when she and Bob Bryan lost in the first round of the mixed doubles. The American pair were defeated 7-5, 3-6, 10-6 by Argentina's Gisela Dulko and Eduardo Schwank.
