Hewitt sets up Nadal showdown

PARIS, June 2 (Reuters) Lleyton Hewitt kept his focus to edge past Finn Jarkko Nieminen 1-6 6-3 7-5 6-2 at the French Open today and set up a mouthwatering fourth-round showdown against champion Rafael Nadal.

The Australian reached the last 16 for second year running after slugging it out for almost three hours. Nieminen surrendered by shovelling a backhand into the net.

''I just didn't feel sharp at the start and he's a tough player as he doesn't give you a lot of cheap points,'' said 14th seed Hewitt.

''I didn't come out of the blocks fast and had to go back to the basics to grind it out.'' After pushing Nadal to the brink in the Hamburg semis last month, Hewitt will be gunning for revenge when the duo meet on Monday.

REUTERS NY BST0253