Henman falls short

As usual, Henman was backed to the hilt by the fervent crowd, but made too many unforced errors and once Grosjean broke the British number one in the fourth, set there was no return for Tiger Tim. Although Henman saved one match point in the set, Grosjean was left celebrating his win only 32 minutes after play had resumed.

"I knew when I was on the court that the people are behind him, but I tried to focus on my serve and my game and that's it," said a happy Grosjean.

Grosjean will play Mark Philippoussis in the semis, who completed a terrific comeback to beat Alexander Popp 4-6,4-6,6-3,6-3,8-6 in a match that was interrupted three times by the bad weather.

Philippoussis' scud of a serve proved decisive as it rescued him from being broken, but he also showed some delicate ground strokes, caressing the ball over the net with his final shot to win the match.

"This is Wimbledon and I have to give it my all," Philippoussis said after the match.

"It's tough out there, any slip-up can cost you the match, but I knew I had to take my chances."

Andy Roddick blitzed veteran Jonas Bjorkman 6-4,6-2,6-4 to move ominously into the semi-finals. His mix of pace and power was too much for the Swede, who had no answer to the barrage Roddick hit at him from the baseline. Bjorkman's serve was off all game, and the contrasting serves of the two players proved decisive.

Roger Federer brushed Sjeng Shalken aside 6-3,6-4,6-4 to qualify for the semis, where he will play Roddick. Despite complaining of a sore back before the match, he produced near-perfect tennis and saw Shalken off in 1 hour 37 minutes with some great forehand shots.