PARIS, June 2: Defending champion Rafael Nadal took his claycourt winning streak to 55 matches on Friday as he moved smoothly into the French Open third round.

But 2004 champion Gaston Gaudio hammered out an ominous warning that he is returning to his best form by disposing of 2003 winner Juan Carlos Ferrero to move into the last 16.

French women's top seed Amelie Mauresmo was also untroubled as she eased into the last 16 and closer to her dream of adding her home Grand Slam to the Australian Open title he captured in January.

Nadal dispensed with the challenge of American lucky loser Kevin Kim 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 in a match held over from Thursday because of rain and now faces French 29th seed Paul-Henri Mathieu for a fourth round spot.

Nadal turns 20 on Saturday and is determined to make it a double celebration by seeing off his French opponent.

Gaudio's reward for his marathon 3hr 15min win over Ferrero is a last 16 date with Russian sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko who put out 1998 champion Carlos Moya of Spain, 6-1, 7-5, 6-3.

America's James Blake, the eighth seed, recovered from a first set loss to defeat dangerous Spanish teenager Nicolas Almagro.

Blake had dropped the opening set when play was suspended on Thursday but he thrived in the sunnier, faster conditions on Friday to record a 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 win.

The American faces French 25th seed Gael Monfils for a place in the last 16.

Croatian 12th Mario Ancic, who was fined 3,000 dollars for a bust-up with Chile's Paul Capdeville in his previous match, made the fourth round for the first time with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 win over Spain's Albert Montanes.

Ancic will face Spanish seventh seed Tommy Robredo who put out the Czech Republic's Lukas Dlouhy 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.

Women's top seed Mauresmo brushed aside the dangerous Serb Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 6-3 to set up a fourth round tie with either Czech 16th seed Nicole Vaidisova or France's Aravane Rezai.

Martina Hingis and Kim Clijsters ruthlessly exposed the gulf in talent in women's tennis when they stormed effortlessly into the third round.

Hingis, the 12th seed and playing at Roland Garros for the first time in five years, crushed Zuzana Ondraskova of the Czech Republic, ranked a lowly 114 in the world, 6-1, 6-3 in just 49 minutes.

Clijsters, the second seed, took six minutes longer to see off Spain's Conchita Martinez Granados, the world's 95th best player, 6-0, 6-3.

Hingis, who now faces Croatia's Ivana Lisjak for a place in the last 16, collected three Australian Opens as well as a Wimbledon and US Open title in her first spell on the tour which was ended in 2002 by a foot injury.

But the French Open always eluded her with runners-up spots in 1997 and 1999 the closest she came to the crown.

Clijsters now takes on Spanish 26th seed Anabel Medina Garrigues for a place in the last 16.

Russian sixth seed Elena Dementieva beat Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 and takes on Israel's Shahar Peer, the 31st seed, for a place in the last 16.

Switzerland's Patty Schnyder, the Swiss seventh seed, reached the fourth round with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-0 win over Julia Vakulenko of Ukraine.

Schnyder will take on American 11th seed Venus Williams who beat Karolina Sprem of Croatia 7-5, 6-3 for a place in the quarter-finals.

Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Russian eighth seed, beat China's Li Na 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) and has a date against ninth seed Francesca Schiavone of Italy.

Results

Men's (second round): Rafael Nadal (ESP x2) bt Kevin Kim (USA) 6-2, 6-1, 6-4; James Blake (USA x8) bt Nicolas Almagro (ESP) 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4, 6-4; David Ferrer (ESP x15) bt Jeremy Chardy (FRA) 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1; Juan Monaco (ARG) bt Fernando Verdasco (ESP x28) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1

Third round: Gaston Gaudio (ARG x10) bt Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP x24) 7-5, 7-5, 7-6 (9/7); Nikolay Davydenko (RUS x6) bt Carlos Moya (ESP x30) 6-1, 7-5, 6-3; Mario Ancic (CRO x12) bt Albert Montanes (ESP) 6-1, 6-2, 6-4; Tommy Robredo (ESP x7) bt Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) 6-1, 6-4, 6-2; Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG) bt Raemon Sluiter (NED) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1; Tomas Berdych (CZE x20) bt Nicolas Kiefer (GER x13) 6-1 – retired; David Nalbandian (ARG x3) bt Dmitry Tursunov (RUS x31) 2-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.

Women's (second round): Kim Clijsters (BEL x2) bt Conchita Martinez Granados (ESP) 6-0, 6-3; Martina Hingis (SUI x12) bt Zuzana Ondraskova (CZE) 6-1, 6-3; Ivana Lisjak (CRO) bt Zheng Jie (CHN) 6-4, 6-4; Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP x26) bt Kaia Kanepi (EST) 6-3, 4-6, 6-0; Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER x13) bt Jamea Jackson (USA) 6-7 (8/10), 6-2, 6-1; Elena Dementieva (RUS x6) bt Viktoriya Kutuzova (UKR) 3-6, 6-0, 6-4

Third round: Patty Schnyder (SUI x7) bt Julia Vakulenko (UKR) 2-6, 7-5, 6-0; Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x8) bt Li Na (CHN) 6-3, 7-6 (7/4); Dinara Safina (RUS x14) bt Katarina Srebotnik (SLO x24) 6-3, 6-4;

Francesca Schiavone (ITA x9) bt Flavia Pennetta (ITA x17) 4-6, 6-1, 9-7; Venus Williams (USA x11) bt Karolina Sprem (CRO) 7-5, 6-3; Amelie Mauresmo (FRA x1) bt Jelena Jankovic (SCG) 6-3, 6-3; Nicole Vaidisova (CZE x16) bt Aravane Rezai (FRA) 6-1, 6-7 (6/8), 6-0—AFP