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French Open: Djokovic, Nadal ease into fourth round

Nadal last dropped a set against Dominic Thiem in the 2019 final

djokovic-french-open-afp Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning against Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis during their men's singles third round match on Day 7 of the French Open in Paris | AFP

Novak Djokovic reached the fourth round of the French Open for a record 12th consecutive year with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 win against 93rd-ranked Ricardas Berankis.

Third seed Rafael Nadal, too, stormed into the last four with a clinical 6-3 6-3 6-3 win over Briton Cameron Norrie

Djokovic's streak of appearances in the round of 16 in Paris is now one longer than the previous professional era mark for men of 11. That was shared by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who both got that far every year from 2005-15.

Djokovic is seeking a second French Open championship and 19th Grand Slam title overall. Nadal and Federer share that record with 20.

Against Berankis, Djokovic never faced a break point and compiled 30 winners to just 18 unforced errors.

Djokovic has dropped a total of 23 games across three matches so far. He will meet 19-year-old Lorenzo Musetti of Italy for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, Nadal, who won his 13th title at Roland Garros last year, has now extended his run at the French Open to 30 sets won in a row. He last dropped a set against Dominic Thiem in the 2019 final.

Norrie broke Nadal twice in the second set, but the latter clawed back on both occasions. He sent down 35 winners, including three aces, and broke Norrie's serve six times in the match.

Nadal will play against Italy's Jannik Sinner, the 18th seed, for a place in the quarterfinals.

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