Ruthless Djokovic into last eight

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."

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 Matheiu 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.