Nadal, Murray and Djokovic through

Rafael Nadal feels close to his best after ruthlessly dismissing Lleyton Hewitt to sweep into the fourth round of the French Open.

The reigning champion, aiming for a fifth successive title at Roland Garros, was not entirely convincing in his opening two wins - over Marcos Daniel and Teimuraz Gabashvili - but he stepped up a gear today, smashing Hewitt 6-1 6-3 6-1.

Robin Soderling, the 23rd seed, is Nadal's next opponent and he has warned the Swede about his improving form.

"I felt much better today than the other days," he said.

"I've improved a little bit every day. You must be playing well to beat Lleyton.

"It's an amazing result for me. I'm happy, really happy."

Hewitt, the former world number one, admitted Nadal was in a different league on Philippe Chatrier court.

"He's as good as he's ever been right now," said the Australian.

"He's number one in the world. His record on all surfaces is good, he's holding three of the four grand slams.

"Today he was hitting his spots and mixing it up extremely well. It's tough against him."

Third seed Andy Murray, who is a potential semi-final opponent for Nadal, moved into the fourth round at Roland Garros for the first time after opponent Janko Tipsarevic retired from their match with a hamstring injury.

The British number one was ahead 7/6 (7/3) 6-3 when the Serb pulled up, and is now in uncharted territory.

He plays Marin Cilic in round four but does not plan to stop there.

"I will try to do better - I would love to go deep into the tournament," said the Scot.

"I am playing well enough to do it. I need to keep my consistency because physically it's not been too demanding."

Cilic, the 13th seed, beat 18th seed Radek Stepanek 6-1 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 today, maintaining his record of not having dropped a set this tournament.

Earlier, fourth seed Novak Djokovic wasted precious little time booking his place in the third round.

The Serbian resumed this afternoon in a strong position after his match against Sergiy Stakhovsky was stopped for bad light last night with Djokovic two sets up.

Ukraine's Stakhovsky won just one game today as his 22-year-old opponent clinched a 6-3 6-4 6-1 success and a meeting tomorrow with Philipp Kohlschreiber, the 29th seed and a winner in five sets against 2003 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero.

"It's not pleasant when you don't finish a match in one day, especially in grand slams," Djokovic said.

"Today I played really well in the third set and I'm happy to finish early so I can have more time to recover for the next match."

Germany's Kohlschreiber's emerged triumphant after a marathon struggle with Ferrero, winning 6-4 2-6 6-4 6-7 (3/7) 6-3 in another match carried over from yesterday.

The third round kicked off today with eighth seed Fernando Verdasco getting the better of fellow Spaniard and good friend Nicolas Almagro.

With 31st seed Almagro being a specialist on the clay, Verdasco was expected to be given a tough test of his credentials but he came through with flying colours, claiming a 6-2 7-6 (7/4) 7-6 (10/8) victory.

Verdasco will next play Nikolay Davydenko, the only Russian remaining in the draw from the eight that started.

The 10th seed eliminated Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka, the 17th seed, 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-2.

Elsewhere, Josselin Ouanna was brought back down to earth with a bump, the French wildcard getting overpowered 7-5 6-3 7-5 by 12th seed Fernando Gonzalez.

Ouanna, ranked 134 in the world, created a surprise two days ago by ousting 20th seed Marat Safin, who was playing his last Roland Garros campaign before retiring.

That five-set match seemed to take its toll on the 23-year-old prospect, who could not live with the Chilean, twice a quarter-finalist here who next plays 30th seed Victor Hanescu.

The Romanian was a surprise 6-4 6-4 6-2 winner over seventh seed Gilles Simon, one of France's big hopes this tournament.