Baghdatis rates Andreev's forehand better than Nadal's

PARIS, June 5 (Reuters) As the only unseeded player Igor Andreev is the the odd man out in the quarter-finals of the French Open and he got there because of his fearsome forehand, according Marcos Baghdatis.

After crumbling in the fourth round under a barrage of powerful strokes from the 125th-ranked Muscovite, Baghdatis warned: ''His forehand is even more powerful than that of (Rafael) Nadal.

''He hurt me quite a lot with his forehand. You never know where he is going to place the ball.

''It keeps you moving from one end of the court to the other and it's never easy.'' Nadal has built a reputation of bludgeoning his opponents into submission with his ferocious forehands.

Until his defeat by world number one Roger Federer in the Hamburg Masters final last month, the Majorcan had strung together an 81-match winning streak on clay dating back to 2005.

Andreev was the last player before Federer to humble the Spaniard on clay -- in the Valencia Open quarter-finals in April 2005.

Baghdatis, the 16th seed, said Andreev's future opponents would do well to have a battle plan ready if they are to have any chance of returning the Russian's favourite shot.

''You don't really see where is he playing because he doesn't take it early,'' the Cypriot said.

''He waits for it, he picks you, and then he just slams it.'' After adding Baghdatis to list of high-profile Paris victims, including Andy Roddick, few would be surprised if he toppled sixth seed Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals and set up a potential re-match with Nadal.

''My forehand is my best shot, no doubt. It works much better on clay courts where the ball bounces higher, so it creates problems for other guys.

''As it's my best weapon, I'm trying to use it 100 per cent.'' REUTERS BJR PM1120