Nadal survives scare to reach fourth round

Defending champion Rafael Nadal was given a big scare on his 20th birthday before defeating local favourite Paul-Henri Mathieu 5-7 6-4 6-4 6-4 to advance into the fourth round of the French Open yesterday.

Nadal had to dig deep to extend his winning streak on clay to 56 after being pushed to the limits by the 24-year-old Mathieu in front of an ecstatic centre court crowd.

Also yesterday, Belgian rivals Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters bullied their way into the fourth round.

Defending champion Henin bristled with aggression in a 6-4 6-0 victory over Tathiana Garbin to avenge her defeat by the Italian in a second round shock two years ago.

Clijsters gave a belligerent display against Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues and eventually her greater power brought her a 6-3 6-4 victory.

Mathieu, seeded 29, saved five break points in the 11th game before claiming the first set on Nadal's serve.

Mathieu saved eight other break points in the second set's third game, only for the Spaniard to claim his serve next and level the match.

Nadal, who will meet Australian 14th seed Lleyton Hewitt for a quarter-final place, broke again in the third set but Mathieu pulled one back when the Spaniard double-faulted.

The second seed broke decisively but two points into the 10th game he called for his trainer for an apparent throat problem before returning to the court and wrapping up the set.

The Spaniard broke for 3-2 in the fourth set when Mathieu netted an easy forehand. The Frenchman broke straight back but cracked under pressure in the ninth game, making four unforced errors to leave Nadal serving for the match.

The world number two ended the four-hour 53-minute thriller on his first match point, getting a few boos from a disappointed crowd.

Hewitt looked impressive in a 7-6 6-2 6-2 win over Slovakian Diminik Hrbaty, a display the former world number one described as one of his best on clay.

Henin-Hardenne was also defending her crown in 2004 when she lost to Garbin and the fifth seed was in an unforgiving mood this time in fresh, bright conditions.

After trailing 4-3 in the first set she outclassed the 28-year-old Italian with her variation and superior use of the court in the second set, sealing victory with a neat forehand volley.

"In the first set, I have to say I thought a little bit about what happened two years ago," Henin said.

She will face 2004 champion Anastasia Myskina in the fourth round. The Russian 10th seed, who has talked about retiring if her form does not improve, skipped past Serbian Ana Ivanovic 6-2 6-3.

Clijsters has twice lost in the final at Roland Garros and clay does not necessarily suit her hard-hitting style.

Medina Garrigues provided plenty of problems on centre court before the US Open champion wore her down with bulldozing groundstrokes.

"I think today was so far my best match of the tournament but I definitely think there's still improvements to be made," Clijsters said.

She will play 15th seed Daniela Hantuchova in the fourth round. The Slovak battled to a 6-3 3-6 10-8 win over France's Nathalie Dechy.

Martina Hingis sprinted into the fourth round with a 6-1 6-1 win over little-known Croatian Ivana Lisjak.

The Swiss, back at Roland Garros for the first time since 2001, barely broke sweat as she silenced 111th ranked Lisjak in just 45 minutes with her second ace of the match.

She will next meet Israeli Shahar Peer, the conqueror of Elena Demen-tieva, for a place in the last eight.