Rafa Defeats Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. Nadal goes onto meet Thomaz Bellucci, the No. 24 seed, who continued his best Grand Slam performance to date by beating No. 14 seed Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-4 for a place in the fourth round.





As it happened: Rafael Nadal v Lleyton Hewitt

Saturday, May 29, 2010
By Charlotte James
19:32 Post-match Hewitt certainly played a better match against Nadal today than at their last meeting but in the end he was no match for the resurgent world No.2. Rafa hit 39 winners and pinned his error count back to 21 for the match, winning 105 points to Hewitt's 84. Credit to Hewitt for some good serving and sticking to a gutsy net-centric game plan, even if he didn't quite pull it off today.

19:25 Game, set, match Nadal 6-3 6-4 6-3 Nadal brings up match point at 40-15 on the Hewitt serve with another of those lasso-action forehands down the line. Perhaps on clay more than any other surface, winning is about playing the big points well and at Roland Garros Nadal is the master. Hewitt saves the first with a clean backhand winner. A Nadal forehand error brings it back to deuce. Hewitt earns a game point but that Nadal off-forehand is still swinging and he hits his 39th clean winner of the match to peg the scores back to deuce. A drilling passing shot on Hewitt's toes and it's match point Nadal again. He claims it when Hewitt drives the ball long at the net. Warm words at the net between the two men. Nadal is delighted with that win and takes the time to salute the crowd.

19:20 Third set: Nadal 5-3

At 15-0 up on the Nadal serve there is a short delay as an abusive spectator is escorted from the court to whistles and cheers from the fans. The disruption has little impact on Nadal who loses one point in holding serve.

19:17 Third set: Nadal 4-3

Hewitt finds himself facing another break point after a run of genius play by Nadal. Is the Aussie's fighting spirit starting to desert him? He slices a tame backhand into the net and laughs in disgust. Nadal has proven a strong front-runner in today's match.


19:14 Third set: 3-3

Nadal drops one point in holding serve to level this third set once more. He swaps racquets at the end of the game.


18:58 Third set: 3--2

Hewitt misses a sitter of a forehand volley to hand Nadal a break point. The Aussie slams the offending ball into the net, clearly at the end of his tether with his fluctuating form. He makes amends with a genius forehand half volley on the next point. "That's the tactic" gestures his coach Nathan Healey from courtside. And it is, when Nadal will let him anywhere near the net. Giving fans a glimpse of the tenacious Lleyton of old, Hewitt saves five break points to cling onto his advantage in this set.


18:52 Third set: 2-2

Nadal's turn to hold easily and it looks like players might be heading off court shortly as the drizzle begins.

18:50 Third set: Hewitt 2-1

A much easier service game for Lleyton there. He's looking relatively free of demons out there at the moment.


18:48 Third set: 1-1

More errors, this time off the Nadal racquet. Hewitt advances to 40-15. He gets it back to deuce but can't fend off Hewitt, who races to the net on his third break-back point and demonstrates some of that Wimbledon-winning volleying style.

18:38 Third set: Nadal 1-0

An error-strewn game to open the third set. Neither player seems able to find the court. It's Nadal who stops the rot first, picking off a backhand winner to take the advantage. Hewitt goes for too much on an off-forehand and thumps it long and it's an early break of serve to Nadal in the third set.

18:29 Second set: Nadal 6-4

Rafa picks the right moment to gather his thoughts and that vicious forehand. He drops two points on serve to claim the second set, with a whipping forehand passing shot down the line, after one hour and 32-minutes of play.


18:24 Second set: Nadal 5-4

There's a little bit of head shaking going on down Rafa's end of the court. By his standards he has missed a lot of baseline shots today. At 4-4 40-15 Hewitt the players have both hit exactly the same number of winners (21) and committed exactly the same number of errors (14) in this match. Hewitt breaks that deadlock with a netted backhand and the game is back to deuce. A 16th error for the Aussie and now the world No.2 has a break point. Hewitt hits a ball high into the sky above him in frustration. He digs deep and finds a 192 k/ph serve to square things back at deuce. Nadal secures the break when Hewitt commits two-consecutive off-balance forehand errors. Big break there for Nadal.

18:19 Second set 4-4

Point of the match so far by Nadal as he executes a running forehand passing shot, executing a forward roll as the ball lands plum on the line behind a volleying Hewitt, giving the Spaniard 15-0. The Aussie applauds the shot. Nadal goes on to level the set.


18:16 Second set: Hewitt 4-3

A solid service game by Hewitt. He's playing a much smarter game than in last year's match against Nadal, as is evidenced by the significantly improved score line. That's not to say the world No.2 isn't making an impression on the Aussie's serve and he continues to pick off a couple of forehand winners per game. Hewitt holds to 30.

18:14 Second set: 3-3

A better service game for Nadal there. Hewitt is visibly frustrated by his errors but they're largely due to some flawless play by Nadal.


18:07 Second set: Hewitt 3-2

More forehand errors from Nadal. It's hard to see what's suddenly making him push too hard off that wing when that stroke was positively signing for him earlier in this match. Nevertheless he pushes Hewitt to deuce after trailing 15-40 on the Aussie's serve. No worries for Lleyton, however, he dishes up two big serves to inch ahead in the second set.

18:01 Second set 2-2

Two break points to Hewitt at 40-15 on the Nadal serve after an uncharacteristic flurry of errors from the Spaniard's racquet. Hewitt claims a third hard-fought rally after Nadal scoops a forehand long. While not yet unleashing the chainsaw, there's a definite fist clench from the Aussie as he claims back that break of serve.

17:59 Second set: Nadal 2-1

Nadal is 100 percent in the ground-stroking grove out there at the moment, distributing the ball around the court with consummate ease. His domination of the baseline forces Hewitt to go for big shots too early and the errors follow. The Spaniard claims the break and extends his lead.

17:52 Second set: 1-1

An enthusiastic Mexican wave at that change of ends. Rafa is hitting winners from all over the court today and seems to be particularly enjoying his off-forehand in today's match. It almost looks like he's experimenting out there.

17:49 Second set: Hewitt 1-0

The wind is whipping up on court and Hewitt, in particular, seems to be struggling, wiping his eyes with a towel between points. Despite some robust returning by Rafa, the Aussie holds serve to 15 and is on the board in the second set.

17:44 First set: Nadal 6-3

Nadal drops one point on his way to serving out the set. Too many unforced errors from the Aussie and he knows it. Nadal, by contrast, is right in his comfort zone and doesn't look like he's having to think too hard out there so far.


17:39 First set: Nadal 5-3

Another good service game from Hewitt. His first serve finds its mark, he notches up his first ace for the match, and he holds for the loss of one point.


17:32 First set: Nadal 5-2

After advancing to a 30-0 lead on the Nadal serve Hewitt gets embroiled in another of those flaming baseline rallies, and comes off the worst yet again. He tosses his racquet into the air in frustration. Another lengthy exchange sees him slip over as he connects with a backhand drive. The ball flies skyward and it's 30-30. Hewitt continues to commit to the net game but the tactic is little use to him if he doesn't make a solid approach shot. Nadal earns a point to hold after Hewitt comes into the net off the wrong ball. Unabashed he heads back in on the next point for another pop and it's back to deuce. He picks off a fabulous off-forehand to advance to break point but fluffs the next point and it's deuce again. The Aussie wrings his hands at the heavens. Two winners from Nadal - a smash and a flicked lefty forehand down the line - and he maintains his advantage after a critical game. Have to warn you, the sky above Roland Garros is starting to look very dark.

17:29 First set: Nadal 4-2

Hewitt adopts extreme tactics and rushes the net for a game. He won Wimbledon back in 2002 so he jolly well should be able to volley. It works for him and he holds serve to love.

17:25 First set: Nadal 4-1

After a promising-looking first game, Nadal is now chewing Hewitt up out on Philippe Chatrier Court. We've even seen the No.2 seed up at the net hitting drop volleys. The Spaniard is on auto pilot out there and Lleyton appears helpless to do anything other than follow the script.

17:21 First set: Nadal 3-1

Hewitt said before the match that, with Rafa rarely suffering an off-day on the return, he'd have to serve at his absolute best to make an impression on the world No.2. We're seeing little evidence of that so far in this match, the Aussie getting just 47 percent of first serves in so far in this match and winning just one point in this service game to hand another break to Nadal.

17:17 First set: Nadal 2-1

Much easier service game to Nadal there. He drops just one point to take the lead in this third round match.

17:07 First set: 1-1

Hewitt said he'd come into this match with a game plan and its tenets are pretty clear. Get a good first serve in, look for the short ball, put away a winner. It seems to be working pretty well for the Aussie, who definitely loses his edge against Nadal when they become embroiled in long baseline rallies. After a tough deuce game, Hewitt comes off worse in two such exchanges and hands his hard-won break back to the Spaniard.

16:52 First set: Hewitt 1-0

Nadal opens serve in this third round match and Hewitt advances to a break point, standing 40-30 on the Spaniard's serve after Rafa nets a backhand volley. The Aussie is taking the ball pretty early out there, holding his ground on the baseline, and after a lengthy rally Nadal shanks a ball just wide of the line, handing his opponent an early break of serve.

16:46 No.2 Rafael Nadal v No.28 Lleyton Hewitt: pre-match Welcome to Philippe Chatrier Court where a packed crowd eagerly awaits this match-of-the-third-round clash between Rafael Nadal and Lleyton Hewitt. The Aussie had his pride handed to him in a backwards-facing baseball cap this time last year, winning just five games against four-time French Open champ Nadal in the third round.