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Berdych storms into French Open second round

Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic plays a shot to Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan during their men's singles match at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, May 25, 2015. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

Czech fourth seed Tomas Berdych bulldozed his way into the second round of the French Open by thrashing Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0 7-5 6-3 on Monday.

Berdych, who is on a quarter-final collision course with another Japanese in fifth seed Kei Nishikori, had too much in his locker for the world number 146 on court Suzanne Lenglen.

He will next face either compatriot Radek Stepanek or Croatian Ivan Dodig.

Berdych, one of the top four seeds in a grand slam for the first time, warmed up for Roland Garros by reaching at least the last eight in the Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome Masters.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Martyn Herman)