TENNIS in DEPTH.

Rafael Nadal is the outright favourite, he has won 96% of his last 50 matches on clay, has only lost eight matches in the last year and is desperate to bag his fifth successive French Open title. However, we must not forget that Rafael Nadal is human, which he proved recently when he was handed his first defeat in 34 matches on clay to Roger Federer in the final of the Madrid Masters. He also came very close to going down to Novak Djokovic in the previous round – so Rafa can be broken down. However, can a man outside the top four challenge him? We know Fed, Djokovic and Muzza have the proven ability to overcome the world No.1 but does world No.48 Lleyton Hewitt have the weapons?

Lleyton Hewitt has the advantage of being a tour veteran with heaps of experience at the top of the game. He has won two Grand Slams (2002 Wimbledon and 2001 US Open), reigned as world No.1 for a lengthy period and has won 29 tour titles but he now stands at world No.48 and maintains a slightly flimsy 26-14 match record for the last year. He does know how to deal with pressure though and has all this embedded memory to draw upon when performing on the big stages. The Aussie has even beaten Rafa four times with his biggest triumph coming in 2005 at Melbourne Park, but that was four years ago and Rafa is a different player now.

Often the lower-ranked guys can match Nadal for the first half of a set and even have break-point chances, but they rarely capitalise and take charge on the big points. Hewitt knows he has the mental strength to do this, but does he have the physical endurance and power to do this in the third round at Roland Garros, where Rafa will undoubtedly be in a furiously ferocious and energised mood. Just to top it off, Nadal has in fact won every meeting with Lleyton on clay. Lleyton can challenge Rafa but will need to take charge early on.

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