French Open: Samantha Stosur beats Paris rain as Nadal, Djokovic wait

Former finalist Samantha Stosur and three-time semi-finalist Jelena Jankovic beat torrential Paris rain to reach the French Open third round Thursday.

After a one hour, 40 minute halt had left ninth-seeded Stosur a set and 4-1 up on France's Kristina Mladenovic, the Australian then took advantage of a 20-minute window on their return to Court Philippe Chatrier to complete a 6-4, 6-3 win.

The 2011 US Open champion will face Serb 18th seed Jelena Jankovic for a place in the last 16.

Jankovic, a semi-finalist in 2007, 2008 and 2010, beat Spain's Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 6-0.

"I think she's a great up and coming player. She hits the ball very hard, very flat," said Jankovic of the Spaniard.

"And especially in the beginning of the match she gave me a lot of trouble. It was not easy playing against such a player."

China's Zheng Jie also reached the last 32 with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Melanie Oudin of the United States.

Kazakh 27th seed Yaroslava Shvedova, who made the quarter-finals last year, was knocked out by Argentine qualifier Paula Ormaechea, 6-4, 7-6 (8/6).

Ormaechea will face either Chinese sixth seed Li Na, the 2011 champion, or America's Bethanie Mattek-Sands for a spot in the last 16.

Li was 7-5, 3-4 ahead when her second round match was halted.

German men's 16th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber reached the third round without hitting a ball when Taiwan opponent Lu Yen-Hsun withdrew with an ankle injury.

Seven-time champion Rafael Nadal and world number one Novak Djokovic, who are seeded to meet in the semi-finals, were due on court later Thursday, rain permitting.

Nadal, bidding to become the first man to win the same major eight times, faces Slovakia's Martin Klizan for a place in the last 32.

Nadal, the third seed and 11-time Grand Slam winner, was given a major fright in the first round against Daniel Brands.

The German took the first set and was a 3/0 up in the second set tiebreaker before the champion rallied to take his Paris record to 53 wins in 54 matches.

Should Nadal prevail, he could then face Lukas Rosol, the man who shocked him in the Wimbledon second round last year.

That defeat sent the Spaniard off the tour for seven months to rest his injured knee, an absence which ruled him out of the Olympics as well as the US and Australian Opens.

Top seed Djokovic, beaten by Nadal in the 2012 final, and needing a French Open title to become just the eighth man to complete the career Grand Slam, faces Argentina's Guido Pella, the world number 83.

In the women's tournament, defending champion Maria Sharapova takes on Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard, the junior Wimbledon champion.