8.45am
LONDON - This year it would be different, Tim Henman had said, but a packed Wimbledon centre court today sat through the same old tennis story as Britain's No 1 crashed out of the quarterfinals with barely a whimper.
All his talk of confidence, of momentum, of belief counted for nothing
as Henman meekly surrendered to lowly-ranked Croatian Mario Ancic 7-6 6-4 6-2.
"My hopes were ... my hopes and desires and aims were to win this tournament. Having lost it, it's a tough one to swallow," he said.
"You've either got self belief or you haven't ... why I believe in myself, I don't know, but I believe I'm pretty good at this game," he insisted but his words rang hollow.
As if to highlight Henman's shortcomings, champion and top seed Roger Federer -- a player Henman has beaten six times out of eight -- showed true grand slam class to repel 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt 6-1 6-7 6-0 6-4.
It was a breathtaking performance against one of the most dogged players on the men's tour, and one which underlines Federer's status as the strong favourite to retain his title.
In the first set he was simply superb, clattering countless winners to wrap it up in 23 minutes.
Hewitt has won two grand slams and reached world No 1 with a game based on grit and a never-say-die attitude. That attitude paid dividends in a second set pock-marked by rain delays as he held on to win it in a tiebreak.
Federer resumed normal service in the third set, outclassing the bamboozled Australian with power and angles so sharp he could have shaved with them.
Hewitt was on the ropes and tried everything he could to claw his way back into the match. He broke Federer for the first time in the tournament to lead 4-3 but could not hold his own serve and Federer closed out.
"He fought hard ... made life very tough for me and I am very pleased with this win," Federer said.
"The whole second set he played such good tennis ... very tough. In that third set I really played some really unbelievable tennis."
Hewitt, for one, had no answers. "Mate, I gave everything I had," he said.
"It was tough out there ... a close match. He really stepped it up. You've got to give him credit, he's the best player in the world right now.".
The Swiss champion will meet 10th seed Sebastien Grosjean for a place in the final.
The Frenchman, a losing semifinalist last year, beat Germany's Florian Mayer 7-5 6-4 6-2.
Even the sublime nature of Federer's win failed to cheer the dispirited British fans who had earlier endured their 'Tiger's' exit from the tournament without so much as a mew, let alone a roar.
The wait for a British men's singles champion will enter a 69th year after a wretched performance from the fifth seed allowed gifted but callow Croatian Mario Ancic reach his first grand slam semifinal.
Henman's increasingly feeble resistance lasted a little over two hours.
Ancic, ranked just 63 in the world and yet to win one title, could scarcely believe his luck.
"I think I had really everything under control," the 20-year-old son of a grocery chain owner smiled. "I think I played great tennis."
The man known as "Super Mario" on the tour did not need "great tennis" to beat Henman, who never looked like putting up much of a fight.
Ancic will face US Open champion Andy Roddick in the semifinals after the American fought through to the last four for the second consecutive year with a 7-6 7-6 6-3 victory over Dutchman Sjeng Schalken.
"Hey, it was a dogfight," Roddick said. I had to work for it out there."
Like Henman, Roddick is full of self-belief, but in the American's case it is for a better reason.
The winner of the Stella Artois Championships warm-up event at London's Queen's Club earlier this month, Roddick has not lost on grass since he was beaten by champion Roger Federer in the semifinals here last year.
He avoids the Swiss this year, at least until the final, but knows he will need to focus against Ancic in the last four.
"We played at Queen's," said Roddick who has yet to lose a set at Wimbledon this year. "I won but it was a tough one so should be interesting."
Men's singles matches today (prefix denotes seeding):
Quarterfinals:
10-Sebastien Grosjean (France) bt Florian Mayer (Germany) 7-5 6-4 6-2
1-Roger Federer (Switzerland) bt 7-Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) 6-1 6-7 (1-7) 6-0 6-4
2-Andy Roddick (US) bt 12-Sjeng Schalken (Netherlands) 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (11-9) 6-3
Mario Ancic (Croatia) bt 5-Tim Henman (Britain) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 6-2
- REUTERS
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8.45am
LONDON - This year it would be different, Tim Henman had said, but a packed Wimbledon centre court today sat through the same old tennis story as Britain's No 1 crashed out of the quarterfinals with barely a whimper.
All his talk of confidence, of momentum, of belief counted for nothing
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