Nishikori stays under the radar for clash with France's Chardy

Japan's Kei Nishikori renews acquaintance with one of the French Open's outside courts on Thursday when he takes on local hope Jeremy Chardy in a second-round match.

The eighth seed took a set to crank into gear on the same court one on Tuesday before downing Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis in four sets.

A quarter-finalist in Paris in 2015, Nishikori has been nursing an inflamed wrist that forced him to hand Novak Djokovic a walkover in Madrid this month, though he notched up two wins at last week's Geneva Open.

Provided the injury does not flare up again - which he admitted on Tuesday was a risk - the Japanese would expect to have the measure of Chardy.

The pair are meeting for the second grand slam in a row, with Nishikori having prevailed in straight sets in the second round in Melbourne in January.

In all, he holds a 5-2 record over the 74th-ranked Frenchman and has won the last four for the loss of just one set.