Nadal survives to set up Hewitt rematch

LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) Rafael Nadal survived a scare from fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco today to set up an intriguing quarter-final against Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the Stella Artois championships.

The French Open champion passed his first big grasscourt test in preparation for Wimbledon in a three-hour 2-6 7-6 7-6 victory over Verdasco in the third round.

Hewitt lost in four sets to Nadal in the fourth round at Roland Garros but on grass the 2002 Wimbledon champion will be a different proposition.

Nadal, who beat world number one Roger Federer in Paris on Sunday to win the claycourt grand slam for the second year in a row, was close to defeat against Verdasco.

After failing to come to terms with the slick grass at Queen's Club in the first set, the 20-year-old had to serve to stay in the match in the second before taking the tiebreak 7-3.

Verdasco, ranked 30 in the world, needed treatment on his back and thigh before the third set started but would not wilt.

Eventually, though, Nadal's superior fitness told and he won the tiebreak 7-3 to take victory on his third match point.

Hewitt recovered from a difficult start to earn a 4-6 6-1 7-6 victory over tall Belarussian Max Mirnyi.

Three-times former Queen's Club winner Hewitt controlled the third set tiebreak, taking it 7-4 on his first match point.

''It's always a tough match against Max. Every time I played him, we've had battles,'' said Hewitt. ''It's nice to come through a tight match against a good grasscourt player.'' Briton Tim Henman strolled into the quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-4 victory over France's Nicolas Mahut.

MACHINE GUN The four-times Wimbledon semi-finalist will need his best tennis in the last eight against jinx opponent Dmitry Tursunov after the Russian overcame Taiwan's Yeu-Tzuoo Wang in three sets today.

Tursunov knocked Henman out of last year's Wimbledon and both the Australian Open and French Open this year.

''If I go out and play the way I have been, I think I've got a good chance of beating him,'' said Henman. ''I do feel very confident about the way things have been going.'' Tursunov has a big serve and thunderous forehand and he is promising all-aout attack.

''Just kind of like a machine gun,'' he said. ''If you shoot 16 bullets a minute, you're going to hit a target eventually.'' Australian Mark Philippoussis, the 1997 champion, was knocked out 6-2 3-6 6-3 by Chilean Fernando Gonzalez.

Defending champion Andy Roddick faces Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan for the right to face Gonzalez while Croatian second seed Ivan Ljubicic is also in third round action.

Reuters YA GC2252