French Open: Stan Wawrinka beats Jeremy Chardy

Stan Wawrinka proved too powerful for Jeremy Chardy as he sauntered into the fourth round of the French Open with a straight-sets win on Friday.

The defending champion was in formidable form on Court Philippe Chatrier as he charged to a 6-4 6-3 7-5 triumph over the world number 32.

It looked like Wawrinka would be in for a frustrating evening in Paris as he contested a number of early points with the umpire after dropping his serve in the opening game.

The third seed regained his composure, however, hitting back immediately before breaking Chardy to take the first set.

Powerful, long strokes from the Swiss kept his opponent deep and forced him from side to side, but it was a lob after racing to the net that helped Wawrinka hold serve and move into a two-set lead.

The world number four was unable to replicate that when serving for the match, with Chardy picking up his second break at the most crucial of times.

However, the Frenchman was unable to take advantage, and Wawrinka will now face Viktor Troicki or Gilles Simon for a place in the quarter-finals.

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS