Nadal and Henin-Hardenne continue title defences

PARIS, June 1 (Reuters) Justine Henin-Hardenne will try to banish past triumphs from her mind as she faces Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus in the second round of her French Open title defence today.

The Belgian fifth seed, who beat Mary Pierce of France last year to add to the title she won in 2003, said she was trying to remain calm about the possibility of a third French Open crown.

''I try to forget about the previous years,'' she said as she prepared to take on Yakimova, who is playing in the French Open for only the second time.

''Any victories, any titles, any trophies that I have, they're at home. I'm not going to lose them.

''The defeats have also happened. It's difficult. But you can't change the past. You have to think about the future, concentrate on the present moment, take matches one at a time. That's my philosophy.

''Of course, you can feel emotional. That's normal. This is a very special place for me. I think everyone knows this.'' NADAL CONFIDENT Rafael Nadal, the men's defending champion, is also in action today, taking on American Kevin Kim.

The Spaniard, who has won a record 54 consecutive matches on clay, will be confident of victory over the world number 116, having breezed through his opening round match with Sweden's Robin Soderling.

Second seed Kim Clijsters of Belgium, twice runner-up in Paris, faces Conchita Martinez Granados of Spain, while 11th seed Martina Hingis, just five months into her comeback after three years in retirement, plays Czech Zuzana Ondraskova.

Sixth seed Elena Dementieva faces Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine, while the woman who beat her in the 2004 French Open final, 10th seed Anastasia Myskina, also from0 Russia, meets Melinda Czink of Hungary.

In the men's event, Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, who has never been beyond the last eight, faces French wild card Mathieu Montcourt. Fourth seed Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia takes on Oscar Hernandez of Spain.

Eighth seed James Blake of the US faces a real test against Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, who won a title on clay in Valencia in April and reached the semi-finals in Barcelona and quarter-finals in Rome.

REUTERS AY PM0948