Novak Djokovic maintained his record of never losing to an American on clay courts, when he beat Georgia resident Robby Ginepri on Monday for a place in the Roland Garros quarter-finals.

The third-seeded Serbian improved to 5-0 lifetime against Ginepri with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 win in overcast conditions on Philippe Chatrier court. Djokovic, who hit two aces and 36 winners, now has a 20-5 record at Roland Garros where he reached the 2007 and 2008 semi-finals.

He will next meet Jurgen Melzer, the No. 22 seed from Deutsch-Wagram, who has become the first Austrian to reach the Roland Garros quarter-finals since Thomas Muster in 1998.

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"I'm really not a morning person, so it took a lot of time for me to get into the rhythm and warm up basically for the match," said Djokovic of his slow start. "He was very aggressive from the start. I was lucky to pull out that first set in my favour. [In the second set] unfortunately I lost focus.

"But I overcame it [and the] third and fourth [sets] were really, really good. I was aggressive, I was serving well, and playing from all over the court. With that kind of game I performed in the third and fourth set, I think I have a good chance against anybody on the court now."

Ginepri, who had originally arrived in Paris two weeks ago expecting to qualify, had the better of the early exchanges but paid the price for failing to convert two break point opportunities in the first and ninth service games. At 4-5, Ginepri fell to 0/40 and handed Djokovic the 44-minute first set when he hit a forehand crosscourt wide.

Djokovic could have opened up a 2-0 lead in the second set, but was unable to convert two break point opportunities. Ginepri began to dominate the baseline rallies and clinched the third game when Djokovic failed to scramble up a drop shot. Ginepri went on to take a 5-2 lead, with a second service break when Djokovic hit a forehand long and closed out 33-minute set to 30.

Mental lapses and a tendency to play conservatively hindered Ginepri in the 31-minute third set, which saw Djokovic race into a 5-0 lead courtesy of service breaks in the second and fourth games. At 5-1, Djokovic saved one break point with an unreturned serve and sealed a two-sets-to-one advantage on his third point.

It was one-way traffic in the fourth set, when Djokovic raised his game and forced Ginepri into a number of unforced errors. Djokovic won the opening game with a backhand crosscourt winner and broke serve for a second time for a 3-0 lead, when Ginepri hit a backhand into the net at 30/40. He completed his victory in two hours and 17 minutes.

The 23-year-old Djokovic lifted his 17th tour-level title at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships in February (d. Youzhny) and has a 25-7 record on the season. He has a 27-6 lifetime record against American opponents.

Ginepri, currently No. 98 in the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings, dropped to a 4-8 mark this year. His best Grand Slam championship performance was a run to the 2005 US Open semi-finals (l. to Agassi). He has never beaten a Top 3 opponent in 15 attempts.

"I'm very ecstatic when what's been going on this week, coming into this tournament having one victory the whole year," admitted Ginepri. "It's a pretty terrible stat. But to be able to play here and win some matches and beat Juan Carlos [Ferrero] in five [sets, I] definitely was thrilled about that victory. Then to have Novak one-set apiece and having some chances to do something else. But I'll take some positives away from this. I'll learn from it again, which I always do with every loss."

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The 29-year-old Melzer, the oldest player remaining in the draw, ended the run of Russian qualifier and World No. 114 Teimuraz Gabashvili with a 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory in two hours and 54 minutes for a place in his first Grand Slam championship quarter-final.

"Reaching the quarter-finals for the first time, that's a special feeling," said Melzer. "Of course it took such a long time to get here, but it still feels great, no matter how old you are."

Gabashvili, conqueror of sixth seed Andy Roddick in the third round, took a 4-1 lead and could not convert three set point opportunities in the first set. He was pegged back by Melzer, who won 12 of 14 net approaches and hit 27 winners, in the 58-minute opener that was decided on a tie-break.

Gabashvili, 25, committed 12 unforced errors in winning the second set, when he broke Melzer’s serve in the first game but his resistance subsided. In the 26-minute third set, Melzer dominated with service breaks in the second and sixth games.

Gabashvili squandered two break point opportunities with forehand errors when he led Melzer 4-3 in the fourth set. Melzer broke serve to 30 for a 5-4 lead when Gabashvili hit a backhand into the net and he completed his 24th win of the year when his opponent netted another backhand.

Melzer, who has been coached by former ATP pro Joakim Nystrom since November 2007, will hope to snap a two-match losing streak against Djokovic in the last eight.

"It will be a completely different match than today," said Melzer of his match against Djokovic. "I mean, he gets a lot of balls back. He's a great counterpuncher. But still I'm confident. I'm in the quarter-finals. I have played good matches here, and I think I have enough game to go in there and beat him."

Gabashvili had not won back-to-back tour-level matches prior to his third appearance at Roland Garros. The first qualifier to reach the last 16 since Martin Vassallo Arguello in 2006, dropped to a 4-7 match record on the season.

"Mentally it was fun for me," said the Russian. "[It was the] only match I have played on one of the centre courts. I was enjoying it really."