French Open PIX: Nadal, Djokovic advance; Kvitova crashes out

Images from Day 4 of the French Open matches played at Roland Garros in Paris on Wednesday.

Nine-times French Open champion Rafael Nadal registered a comfortable 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Dutchman Robin Haase.

The 30-year-old Spaniard will face Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia in the third round.

He may be carrying a little more around the middle than in his Roland Garros pomp, but the star appeal of Andre Agassi was undeniable at the French Open on Wednesday as his new charge Novak Djokovic romped to a second-round win.

Almost as many cameras were trained on the US tennis star as were trained on Djokovic throughout the latter's 6-1 6-4 6-3 dismantling of Portugal's Joao Sousa.

Reigning champion Djokovic teamed up with 1999 champion Agassi in a dream-team player-coach combination just before the start of the tournament.

Already the signs were good on Court Suzanne Lenglen. There was a spring in the step of the world number two that had seemed missing in recent months.

"Well, that's what these 'Super-coaches' give you," former world number one and triple French champion Mats Wilander told Reuters.

"They help you with all the little things. Obviously, they know what it is like, they know what you need to be a champion."

Djokovic looked every bit a champion as he controlled his opponent throughout, with Agassi closely monitoring from courtside, a look of concern occasionally clouding his mien.

But Agassi needn't have worried. Having raced through the first set in a little over half an hour, second seed Djokovic established his rhythm and then just pulled away.

He next meets Argentine Diego Schwartzman in the third round.

Home favourite Kristina Mladenovic eased past Italian Sara Errani 6-2, 6-3.

The 13th seed recorded an impressive tally of 31 winners to close out victory in an hour and 18 minutes.

Mladenovic, who will next face American Shelby Rogers, was back to her confident self, peppering the court with winners in a one-sided contest.

One of the tournament favourites after reaching the finals in Stuttgart and Madrid this year, Mladenovic lived up to expectations with a tidy display.

No French woman has lifted the Suzanne Lenglen Cup since Mary Pierce in 2000, local hopes often crumbling under pressure.

There is little chance it will happen to Mladenovic, who was basking in delight after her match when the crowd chanted "Kiki, Kiki".

"It's tough. It's either going very well or it's a drama, because lots of expectation, lots of tension, pressure, playing at home," she told reporters.

"You could see full house there. You always want to do great. Lots on the nerves. You've got to play well. But once you know how to deal with it, to handle that pressure, it's great. You just enjoy.

"From my side, I'm always trying to take only the positives. I love big events. I love big pressure. I love that kind of atmosphere. This is what I'm there for."

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's French Open hopes vanished into thin air when he was sent packing in the first round with a 7-5, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 defeat against Argentine Renzo Olivo.

The French 12th seed, who had just won the Lyon Open on clay, bowed out after saving three match points in the only game played on Wednesday after the match was interrupted by dusk on Tuesday.

"We were back to the hotel around 1 a.m., I had a massage, it was not easy to sleep. I knew the first point today was important," world number 91 Olivo, who trained in France from 2012-2016, said courtside in French.

Olivo served for the match on Wednesday but a burly Tsonga had broken back to keep his hopes alive.

"I just tried to play every point as it was the last," said Olivo, who handed Tsonga his second first-round defeat at Roland Garros.

No French man has won the French Open since 1983, let alone a Grand Slam title.

Defending French Open champion Garbine Muguruza had to claw her way back from a set down to survive a scare from talented Anett Kontaveit and move into the third round with 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 win.

It was a slow start for the Spanish player, but she eventually played her way into the contest, growing in confidence after the shaky beginning.

She eased through the draw after 2 hours and 8 minutes when Kontaveit slapped a backhand wide.

For Muguruza, the win was revenge for a loss to the Estonian the last time they met, in Stuttgart in April.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova's comeback was cut short when she was dumped out of the French Open in a second round straight-sets defeat to doubles world number one Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

The 15th seed, who had only returned this week after a five-month injury absence following a stabbing by a burglar last year, littered the court with errors to lose 7-6, 7-6.

The 32-year-old American, doubles winner in Paris in 2015, refused to buckle when Kvitova went 4-2 ahead.

She whipped in a series of ferocious forehand winners while also frustrating the Czech, constantly forcing her to the net to win the first set with a tiebreak.

Kvitova, who had struggled with her returns despite the American getting less than half of her first serves in, pulled herself together and rallied back from 3-1 down to force another tiebreak.

The American, however, kept her cool and watched as Kvitova surrendered on match point with her ninth double fault.

Tenth seed Venus Williams ground her Japanese opponent Kurumi Nara into the red Parisian dust in a contest that at times almost veered into miss-match territory before ending 6-3, 6-1.

Punching her black and lime-green racquet through the ball, Williams cleaned the lines with her groundstrokes, sending Nara scampering all round the arena.

"You know, it's always a joy when you can control the match," she smiled afterwards.

"That always feels good."

The win makes her the oldest woman to reach the third round at the French Open since Billie-Jean King in 1982.