Djokovic cruises into French Open third round

World number two Novak Djokovic continued his rich vein of form as he swept aside Joao Sousa of Portugal in straight sets to storm into the third round of the French Open here on Wednesday.

The Serbian maestro, who was playing his first tournament under new coach Andre Agassi, outplayed his Portuguese opponent Sousa 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 in a thrilling clash that lasted more than two hours.

Djokovic is bidding for a 13th Grand Slam championship title and if he manages to retain his Roland Garros title this year, he would become the first man in the Open Era to win each of the four major championships on at least two occasions.

Djokovic will now lock horns with Diego Schwartzman of Argentina for a place in the fourth round.

In another men's singles clash, Austria's Dominic Thiem also booked his place in the third round of the second major of the season after posting a 7-5, 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Simone Bolelli of Italy.

Thiem will now face American tennis player Steve Johnson in the third round of the men's singles event.