Jo-Wilfried Tsonga became the latest player to exit the French Open due to an injury, but Novak Djokovic continued his march towards a potential career Grand Slam.

Tsonga pulled out of the Internazionali d'Italia this month due an adductor issue, and it reared its head again as he led Ernests Gulbis 5-2 in their third-round meeting.

The Frenchman knew he would be unable to continue and joins Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the list of casualties at Roland Garros.

Djokovic's route to the fourth round, meanwhile, was relatively pain-free, with Aljaz Bedene offering minimal resistance as he won his third successive match in straight sets.

ADDUCTOR ENDS TSONGA CAMPAIGN

The French fans lost another of their home hopes, with Tsonga joining Gael Monfils in withdrawing from the tournament.

"I came on court feeling really good. The first game of the match I was sliding, and I felt a very strong pain [in] my adductor. Then I continued a little bit, and it was becoming more and more painful," said Tsonga.

"At 4-2 it felt like being stabbed by a knife. I knew it was over, because [there was] no chance I can play all match long like this."

DJOKOVIC RACES INTO LAST 16

The thunderstorm that caused lengthy delays throughout the day meant Djokovic had to work quickly against Bedene to avoid returning on Sunday.

The world number one set the tone by take a one-set lead after just 38 minutes, with the second taking just two minutes more.

Bedene made things difficult when he broke Djokovic to level the third set up a 2-2, but Djokovic managed to see out the win in just over two hours before visibility became too poor.

THIEM TRIUMPHS IN ZVEREV BATTLE

Two players tipped for big things in the future faced off on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Alexander Zverev had already gone further than he had in any previous grand slam by reaching the third round but took a step towards the last 16 by claiming the opening set.

While Dominic Thiem may only have three years on the 19-year-old German, he is ranked 15th in the world and has claimed five ATP titles on clay since 2015.

That additional experience surely helped him charge from behind to win 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-3 6-3, with Marcel Granollers waiting in the fourth round after a walkover against the injured Nadal.

FERRER, GOFFIN AND BERDYCH ADVANCE

David Ferrer overcame fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, winning four straight games after a lengthy rainy day to triumph 6-4 7-6 (8-6) 6-1.

The 34-year-old will face seventh seed Tomas Berdych in the fourth round after the Czech dispatched of Pablo Cuevas 4-6 6-3 6-2 7-5.

David Goffin was forced to five sets by Nicolas Almagro but overcame the world number 49 6-2 4-6 6-3 4-6 6-2 to keep his campaign alive.