INDIAN WELLS, California (AFP) - Defending champion Rafael Nadal swept aside US youngster Donald Young and booked a rematch with Aussie Open foe Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Indian Wells ATP Masters Series on Monday.

Nadal, ranked number two in the world and seeded second behind world number one Roger Federer, defeated 86th-ranked Young 6-1, 6-3, taking full advantage of the 18-year-old wild card's early nerves to pocket the first set quickly.

Young steadied in the second set, but was broken in the sixth game to trail 2-4. With Nadal serving for the match at 5-3, Young was unable to capitalize on one break point and the Spaniard duly served out what he called a "comfortable" win.

"I think he started very nervous," Nadal said. "You see the score, it was 4-0 (in the first set). In the second set, I have the break for 4-2, I think he had some mistakes.

"I didn't play my best tennis, but I didn't play bad."

Next up for Nadal is Tsonga, who was unseeded when he stunned the second-seeded Spaniard in straight sets in the Australian Open semi-finals in January.

Tsonga, now ranked 17th in the world, defeated fellow Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.

"It's going to be important for me to serve well," Nadal said of his looming encounter with Tsonga, who fell to the Spaniard in the first of their two meetings to date, at the US Open last year.

"He's strong in his serve," Nadal said. "From the baseline I must try to play a little bit more aggressive than in Australia."

France's Richard Gasquet, the eighth seed, got the men's action off to a brisk start with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela.

Gasquet booked a meeting with ninth-seeded American James Blake, who beat former world number one Carlos Moya of Spain 6-3, 6-4.

Blake, who evened his career head-to-head against Moya at six wins apiece, said he was reminded of his first win against the Spaniard, which came at Indian Wells in 2003.

Third-seeded Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic capped the night session in this 5.7 million-dollar tournament, which features a WTA tier one event as well as the men's Masters Series.

Australian Open semi-finalist Jelena Jankovic reached the women's fourth round with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama.

Jankovic, ranked number four in the world and seeded third, encountered little resistance from Sugiyama and said her biggest concern was to maintain her focus in the breezy conditions.

"I really tried to do my job out there. I didn't want to let her get into the match," she said. "Especially with the wind you cannot lose your concentration, because as soon as you do that you start making a lot of errors."

Jankovic's compatriot Ana Ivanovic, the top seed, was to open the night session against Italy's Tathiana Garbin.

Ivanovic, who like all 32 men's and women's seeds had a first-round bye, enjoyed a breakout season in 2007, with titles in Berlin, Los Angeles and Luxembourg, and her runner-up finish to Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open propelled her to number two in the world.

France's Marion Bartoli, the sixth seed, labored to a 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) victory over German Angelique Kerber.

Bartoli was up 6-3, 5-1, but couldn't put the victory away until her eighth match point.

"I was feeling good until 6-3, 5-1," Bartoli said. "I guess a one-hour match was too quick for me and I stayed a bit longer on the court to practice.

"Sometimes it happens," Bartoli added. "Even if you try to close out in the match it's not happening. She has some luck on a few shots - she made a dropshot that she will never make on another match point. It happens."

Bartoli next faces former world number one Lindsay Davenport, a two-time winner of this event, who held on for a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Taiwan's Chan Yung-Jan.

The 31-year-old American, who took nearly a year off the tour to have a baby, has won two titles already this year.