Spain's Rafael Nadal hits a return to Australia's Lleyton Hewitt at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris yesterday. - ReutersPARIS (Reuters):
Lleyton Hewitt was flattened into the Parisian clay by Rafael Nadal yesterday as the Spaniard's headlong charge towards a hat-trick of French Open titles showed no sign of running out of steam.
The world number two spoke of his respect for Australian Hewitt in the build-up to their fourth round meeting but he showed him scant regard as he comprehensively outplayed the 14th seed during a 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 victory.
His quarter-final obstacle will be friend and compatriot Carlos Moya after the 30-year-old former champion beat 35-year-old Swede Jonas Bjorkman 7-6, 6-2, 7-5.
"It won't be a foregone conclusion, I'm going to enjoy playing against him on Centre Court," Moya, now the oldest player left in the draw, said of his impending clash with a player yet to drop a set here this year.
"It's nice to be in the quarters against one of my best friends," said Nadal, who turned 21 on Sunday. "I'm happy for Carlos, he's coming back to the top, but I hope he stops here."
Serbian sixth seed Novak Djokovic and Russian outsider Igor Andreev also came through to complete the last eight, with victories over Fernando Verdasco and Marcos Baghdatis respectively on a humid day in the French capital.
Credentials
The list of players capable of halting Nadal is a short one, topped by Roger Federer. But 20-year-old Djokovic, the youngest player to reach the fourth round, emphasised his credentials by beating Verdasco 6-3, 6-3, 7-6.
Djokovic, who was two points from defeat against lowly-ranked French wildcard Olivier Patience on Saturday could reach the semi-final without meeting a seed after 23-year-old Andreev, ranked 125th in the world returning from injury, beat Baghdatis 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 to set up a clash with the Serb.
