Igor Andreev has a lethal forehand

There has been only one Russian winner of the men’s singles at Roland Garros, Yevgeny Kafelnikov in 1996, who went off to become a poker champion and put on a lot of weight. Those who have been writing off this year’s event as a sure-fire showdown between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had better be aware that there are significant cards yet to be played, two of them from Russia.

Federer and Nadal are there, of course, although Lleyton Hewitt was scratching away at the Spaniard’s clay-court authority in the third set of their fourth-round match on Court Philippe Chatrier Monday until he snatched at a 10-a-penny forehand on the tenth point of what became the decisive tie-break. A 6-4 lead for the Australian could have put an entirely different gloss on things, but Nadal does not need a second reprieve.

Look elsewhere at the list of survivors and one name does not quite ring true. Igor Andreev, of Russia, plundered the headlines in the first round by stopping in his tracks Andy Roddick, the third seed, and has since made pulsating progress, the latest instalment of which was a four-set victory over Marcos Baghdatis, the coruscating Cypriot, Monday.

Andreev now meets Novak Djokovic of Serbia, while Nikolay Davydenko, Andreev’s compatriot, may be required to run down more balls than he has in his life to deny the bull-like Guillermo Cañas of Argentina, a place in the semi-finals.

This is the first time that Andreev has reached this stage of a Grand Slam tournament and he does not look the least bit out of place.

The last but one person — Federer was the last — to beat Nadal on clay in April 2005, Andreev had reached his career-high ranking of No.24 in April last year before he required knee surgery later in the month, which robbed him of six months on the circuit and the opportunity to build on that momentum.

The tennis authorities generously take these things into account when a player is sidelined for so long and the men’s tour has a protected ranking, which is available for the first eight tournaments for which they wish to use it or a period of nine months, whichever comes first.

And so, although Andreev is No.125 in the world at present, he earned a place in the main draw at No.27, an average taken for the first three months of his incapacity.

He has not let down his side of the bargain, unleashing a flurry of winners, especially on his forehand, which has to be one of the most devastating strokes in the game. The angles and wicked deception he can create from whipping the racket around his body are quite mind-boggling.

Baghdatis said: “It comes from anywhere. You don’t really see where is he playing because he doesn’t take it early. He waits for it, he picks you and then he just slams it.

“I have a feeling it’s even more powerful than that of Nadal. 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.

“You want to start before the ball has arrived, has hit the ground.”

What better man to test the full range of Andreev’s excellence than Djokovic, the No.6 seed who has got it front and centre into his head that he can win this championship?

DAY IX RESULTS

Men’s Singles, Round IV — Novak Djokovic (6, Ser) bt Fernando Verdasco (Esp) 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (1); Carlos Moya (23, Esp) bt Jonas Bjorkman (Swe) 7-6 (5), 6-2, 7-5; Igor Andreev (Rus) bt Marcos Baghdatis (16, Cyp) 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4; Rafael Nadal (2, Esp) bt Lleyton Hewitt (14, Aus) 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (5);

Women’s singles, Round III — Anabel Medina Garrigues & Virginia Ruano Pascual (8, Esp) bt Emmanuelle Gagliardi (Sui) & Francesca Schiavone (Ita) 6-4, 6-4; Katarina Srebotnik (Slo) & Ai Sugiyama (7, Jpn) bt Shahar Peer (Isr) & Dinara Safina (11, Rus) 6-1, 6-2; Janette Husarova (Svk) & Meghann Shaughnessy (10, US) bt Michaella Krajicek (Ned) & Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol) 6-1, 6-4;

Men’s Doubles, Round III —Bob and Mike Bryan (1, US) bt Lukasz Kubot (Pol) & Oliver Marach (Aut) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; Mahesh Bhupathi (Ind) & Radek Stepanek (Cze) bt Jonathan Erlich & Andy Ram (7, Isr) 7-6 (4), 6-4; Jonas Bjorkman (Swe) & Max Mirnyi (2, Blr) bt Jeff Coetzee (RSA) & Rogier Wassen (Ned) 6-4, 6-3; Igor Kunitsyn & Dmitry Tursunov (Rus) bt Arnaud Clement & Michael Llodra (10, Fra) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4;

Mixed doubles, Round II —Sun Tiantian (Chn) & Julian Knowle (Aut) bt Alize Cornet & Jonathan Eysseric (Fra) 6-1, 6-1; Quarter finals — Yan Zi (Chn) & Mark Knowles (5, Bah) bt Chuang Chia-jung (Tai) & Todd Perry (Aus) 6-4, 7-6 (4); Katarina Srebotnik (Slo) & Nenad Zimonjic (6, Ser) bt Lisa Raymond & Bob Bryan (1, US) 6-4, 7-6 (6);

Junior, Boys singles, Round I — Ricardas Berankis (15, Lit) bt Rupesh Roy (Ind) 7-6, (5), 6-2;

Boys doubles, Round I — Vladimir Ignatic (Blr) & Rupesh Roy (Ind) bt Greg Jones & Brydan Klein (3, Aus) 1-6, 6-3, 10-4 (tie-break).