Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic the men to beat in Paris as they both win second round matches in straight sets

Both Nadal and Djokovic won in straight sets at the French Open on Wednesday, while dark horses Milos Raonic and Dominic Thiem recovered from slow starts to book their place in the next round

Nadal has breezed through his first two matches (Getty)

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic’s potentially record-breaking French Open campaigns remain firmly on track after the second round at Roland-Garros, with both the overwhelming favourite and the defending champion winning comfortably in straight-sets on Wednesday.

Nadal is attempting to win an unprecedented tenth title in Paris, while victory for Djokovic would see the Serbian become just the third man in history — after the great Australians Roy Emerson and Rod Laver — to win each of the Grand Slams on more than one occasion.

But before contemplating their respective accomplishments, each man had a second round match to attend to, with the shock early exits of seeded players including Alexander Zverev (9), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12) and Jack Sock (14) offering timely reminders that neither Nadal or Djokovic can afford to count their chickens just yet.

Of the two, it is Nadal who looks to be in the better form. Which is unsurprising, given that he boasts a 18-1 win-loss record on clay this year, having won tune-up tournaments in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid before arriving in Paris at the beginning of this week.

Nadal completely dominated the Dutchman Robin Haase on Court Philippe-Chatrier, winning 6-1 6-4 6-3 against a man who had previously taken him to five gruelling sets at Wimbledon in 2010. But on the red dirt of Roland-Garros, Nadal is a completely different player. He hit no fewer than 33 winners in an emphatic performance, with Haase failing to create a single break point.

“I was more or less under control during the whole match,” Nadal said afterwards, a touch modestly. “So I am very happy winning in straight sets, which is always great news. Robin is a dangerous opponent always who can serve very well and hit very strong. So I think I did a lot of things well this afternoon.”

Nadal is in sensational form (Getty)

And ominously for his future opponents, Nadal revealed after his win that the hot and humid weather conditions in Paris are actually helping his game. The mercury climbed to 25 degrees on Wednesday and with temperatures forecast to remain in the mid-20s throughout next the second week, it is beginning to appear that the stars are aligned for the Spaniard.

“It's true that if it is sunny, between 18 and 25 degrees, normally it is good for me, because the ball flies and we have good bounces on my forehand, especially,” Nadal added. “It is true that if the temperature go down and is raining or these kind of things, it's obvious is a little bit worse for my game.”

The Spaniard is hoping to win his tenth French Open (Getty)

Given Andy Murray’s lacklustre form and the absence of Roger Federer, the second seed Novak Djokovic looks the man most likely to stop Nadal in his pursuit of history. And, under the watchful eye of his new coach Andre Agassi, Djokovic swept past João Sousa 6-1 6-4 6-3 to book his place in the third round, where he will play Argentinian Diego Schwartzman.

Despite winning in straight sets Djokovic looked a little short of his top form, rattling through a comfortable first set in a little over 30 minutes before running into some difficulty in his second. The 12-time Grand Slam champion was broken early into the set by Sousa and appeared to tweak his back during one rough landing, although he quickly recovered his poise to win in three.

After his win, Djokovic was quick to shoot down any suggestion he had suffered an injury. “Well, it was an awkward twist, but it was nothing, nothing really major,” he said. “It was okay. It was just a little pull. He wrong-footed me and I was in the air trying to catch the ball.”

Djokovic is the second favourite to win in Paris (Getty)

He also admitted after momentary lapses in concentration in the second and third sets that he would need to improve if he was to win his second successive title. He added: “In some important moments I was kind of hanging in there. Especially in the third set he missed an easy forehand maybe to go break up in the third. It was quite close. But the way I ended the match and last couple of games was positive.”

The 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic began his French Open very impressively with a straight sets win over Steve Darcis, although he had to battle back from a set down in his second round match against Rogério Dutra Silva, eventually prevailing 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-4.

Raonic’s serve frequently got him out of trouble: he whistled down 25 aces compared to his opponent’s one, and finished off the match with four in succession. “I felt a little bit sluggish to start,” he said. “I sort of let him really into it, and you could see that he started believing after a while, and that's always a dangerous state.”

Raonic's big serve got him out of trouble (Getty)

Last year’s semi-finalist Dominic Thiem meanwhile recovered from a slow start to cruise past Simone Bolelli 7-5, 6-1, 6-3. The Austrian, who is the only player to beat Nadal on clay this season, is considered a real dark horse to win the tournament although has been handed a tough draw, and will likely play the in-form David Goffin in the fourth round before Djokovic in the quarters.

“It was a solid match, a solid performance,” he said afterwards. “It was a little bit of a bad start, falling behind 0-3. And it was a pretty early match. But after that bad start it got better and better. And I am happy that I am through in three sets.”

Thiem is left flying the flag for the ATP’s crop of younger stars, after 20-year-old Zverev lost to the Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco in the first round on Tuesday. When asked what had made the difference in his 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 defeat, Zverev’s response was emphatic: “I played absolute s*** made the difference. It is quite simple.”