Players Under the Microscope / Editor / 05 June 2007 /

Rafael Nadal continued his quest for a third successive French Open crown after beating Lleyton Hewitt 6-3 6-1 7-6 (7-5) to reach the quarter-finals.

Spain's clay-court specialist was seldom troubled against his Australian opponent as he took the opening two sets with consummate ease.

Hewitt rallied in the third to take it to a tiebreak and was leading 4-2 at one stage, but defending champion Nadal came back powerfully to claim an impressive victory.

The second seed will face Carlos Moya in an all-Spain affair in the last eight and is the predictable 1.04 favourite in Betfair's Match Odds market to progress to the semi-finals of Roland Garros, with his opponent (23) not fancied.

"It's perfect to be in the quarter-finals and it's perfect play. Ten times better than the last few days," said 21-year-old Nadal after his fourth-round win.

"The match was tough all the way. I'm very happy with my game. I played the best match of the tournament for sure.
"I like his game a lot, and I like his attitude on court. He is a fighter, so I like that."

World number two, Nadal, looks a warm order at 1.14 in Betfair's To Reach The Final market as he looks to make it three final wins on the spin in Paris, while he is also trading as the 1.75 favourite in the outright winner market.

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