Tennis: Henman secures place

Sep 10 2004

By The Journal

Tim Henman reached the semi-final of the US Open last night - but was again made to work for his victory at Flushing Meadows. The 30-year-old lost the third set of his quarter-final against Dominik Hrbaty within minutes of the restart but fought back straight away to secure the victory in the fourth. The number five seed now faces Roger Federer tomorrow in his second Grand Slam semi-final this year - and a win will give him his best chance of a maiden major title. The British number one's path to the last four of the competition has been drawn out over five games and more than 22 sets, so it was not surprising that victory was not as straight forward as it could have been. With a fierce wind affecting his serve, Henman struggled with his toss and was lucky to survive a tense first game on the second day of the clash. Story continues ADVERTISEMENT His 26-year-old opponent had another chance to wrap up the set at 6-5 and made no mistake with his second attempt. But the Slovakian then had no answer to Henman's all-round game and was crushed in a fourth set that will give the Briton confidence. Henman broke Hrbaty's serve in the first game of the set and then found his rhythm. He was two breaks up at 3-1 and the Grandstand court were then treated to classic serve-volleying on his way to serving out the set. A huge second serve also contributed to the 6-1 7-5 5-7 6-2 win.

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