Lawn Tennis: Tennis Star names avoid potential scares.

Byline: Dave Horgan

AFTER a volatile Saturday that saw both Nikolay Davydenko and Stanislas Wawrinka throw away seemingly impregnable leads, normal service was resumed at Roland Garros yesterday with Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic reaching the quarter-finals in confident style, writes Dave Horgan.

Djokovic beat home favourite Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4 6-3 6-4 and will now play Latvian Ernests Gulbis for a place in the semi-finals, the teenager having beaten another local, Michael Llodra, in straight sets in the day's opener.

Victory for the Serb saw him backed in to 7.8 on Betfair, however he was back out to 8.6 after Rafael Nadal had trounced Fernando Verdasco later in the day.

The three-time reigning champion appeared to be in something of a hurry against his countryman, racing through the first set 6 - 1 before showers forced a break in play.

And he was equally ruthless after the rain disappeared, closing out the match 6-1 6-0, 6-2 to set up a clash with Nicolas Almagro.

Ivanovic's victory was great news for those who backed her with Ladbrokes. The No. 2 seed started a 1-14 shot with the Magic Sign, but having beaten Petra Cetkovska 6-0 6-0 backers will get paid at 1-7.