After the raucous passion of 'People's Sunday' Tim Henman supplied a magical,
if slightly manic Monday at Wimbledon.
The British number one took his place in the quarter-finals for the eighth
time in nine years with a display of clinical ruthlessness blended with
late-night drama to beat Australia's Mark Philippoussis 6-2 7-5 6-7 7-6.
The light was fading and the clock on the scoreboard beamed out 8.47pm when
Henman finally clinched triumph on his fifth match point after Philippoussis
pushed a return wide in the second tie-break which had taken on all the
characteristics of a penalty shoot-out.
Against Philippoussis, Henman took his game to a higher level and the message was that at last,
after a week without conviction, here was the sort of form which could end the
wait for the first British men's singles Wimbledon champion for 68 years.
Henman's serve was so solid that Philippoussis did not win a single point on
his first delivery for more than two sets.
His return of serve was so sharp that the big Aussie, who prevented Henman
reaching the quarter-finals when he beat him in the fourth round in 2000, took
almost an hour and a half to gain his first break point.
And then the steel to repel a spirited fightback by the big-serving
Philippoussis who was fired up by an encounter with the umpire when he turned
the air a shade of Rusedski-blue over a disputed line call and received a
warning for a stream of audible obscenities.
The fury stoked up his game and for an hour or so an air of tension hung over
Centre Court as Philippoussis threatened to derail the Henman adventure.
But eventually, though Eastenders viewers had to wait as television schedules
were rejigged to stay with tennis's soap of the day, Henman prevailed.
"It's tough to make sense of it," said Henman. "It was such an intense
match and the quality of play was so high. I got off to a great start and I just
had to be patient.
"The fourth set was just an incredible atmosphere and I had to keep fighting
and eventually I finished it off. I'm just relieved to get through and have a
day off tomorrow."
Defending champion Roger Federer stormed into the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a
straight-sets dismissal of towering Croat Ivo Karlovic on court one.
Karlovic grabbed the headlines at last year's championships when he dumped out
defending champion Lleyton Hewitt in the opening round but hopes of another
giantkilling act were snuffed out by Federer.
The Swiss ace triumphed 6-3 7-6 (7/3) 7-6 (7/5) without ever hitting top gear,
although this was partly down to a gritty performance from Karlovic who refused
to buckle despite facing some stunning strokes early in the second set.
Karlovic, at 6ft 10ins the tallest player inside the top 100 of the ATP
rankings since 1973, showed promise early on until the sixth game when some poor
serving enabled Federer to break.
Karlovic enjoyed two break points in the next game but his opponent has not
dropped his serve in the championships so far and he clawed back the lost ground
before clinching the set 6-3.
Karlovic had already counted for two seeds - Paradorn Srichaphan and Feliciano
Lopez - in previous rounds but on this occasion he was struggling to claim the
upper hand.
A powerful serve was proving enough to keep him in the match although the
second set was finally settled by a tie-break which Federer clinched 7/3.
Karlovic made a poor start to the third set and was forced to save two break
points in the second game but once those were secure, play settled down with
service again.
Federer manoeuvred himself to match point in the 10th game but not for the
first time Karlovic showed calmness under pressure, rescuing the situation with
an unstoppable smash.
Another tie-break was required to settle the issue and when Federer banked
three match points the result was beyond doubt, conceding the first two before
blasting Karlovic out with a cross-court forehand on the third.
Lleyton Hewitt came through an absorbing fourth-round duel with Carlos Moya to
set up quarter-final clash of Wimbledon champions with Federer.
Hewitt, the 2002 winner, gained a 6-4 6-2 4-6 7-6 triumph over the Spaniard to
earn a mouthwatering last-four meeting with the defending champion.
Hewitt, who lost to Federer in the fourth round of this year's Australian
Open, came through his biggest test of the tournament against 27-year-old Moya,
who had reached the third round of Wimbledon for the first time yet looked at
times like a grasscourt specialist.
Andy Roddick was another big name to progress after a
battle of the big servers with Germany's Alexander Popp.
Roddick fired 11 aces and another 40 unreturned serves on court one to beat
the unseeded Popp 7-5 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 56 minutes.
Roddick has yet to drop a set in his first four matches at the All England
Club, but he was made to fight all the way by Popp.
Earlier Sebastien Grosjean saw off Robby Ginepri to become the first man through to the last eight.
Former semi-finalist Grosjean proved just a little too seasoned for Ginepri, the man who had ended Juan Carlos Ferrero's run at the All England Club on Friday.
The Frenchman, seeded 10 this year, played beatutifully as he gave his young American opponent a grasscourt lesson.
Grosjean was into his stride from the outset, and but for a wobble in the third set when he was broken, seldom looked in trouble.
He raced to the opening two sets for the loss of just four games, as he began to produce winners from all areas of the court.
In all Grosjean, who saw off Tim Henman here last year, hit 14 aces and no less than 43 winners as he romped to a 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7/4) win.
Mario Ancic is also into the quarter-finals - but only opponent Xavier Malisse was forced to withdraw
during their fourth-round tie on court three.
Ancic, the next opponent for Henman, was leading 7-5 3-1 when his Belgian opponent, a semi-finalist at
Wimbledon two years ago, pulled out with a recurring lower-back injury.
The No12 seed Sjeng Schalken continued his unhurried progress into the last eight after a four-set victory over Vince Spadea.
Schalken cruised through 6-2 7-5 3-6 6-2.
The second unseeded player into the men's quarters is German Florian Mayer.
He got through in four tough sets against unseeded Swede Joachim Johansson 6-3 6-7 7-6 6-4 and will now meet Grosjean.
In the women's event, former Wimbledon champion Lindsay Davenport booked a place in this year's
quarter-finals with a battling 6-4 6-4 victory over 12th seed Vera Zvonareva on
Centre Court.
The number five seed was largely in control as she claimed the opening set but
then found herself 3-0 down in the second before calling on all her experience
to pull off an impressive recovery.
Davenport, winner at the All England Club in 1999, will now face Karolina
Sprem for a place in the semi-finals.
Maria Sharapova proved too hot for American veteran Amy Frazier on Court One.
Sharapova will now contest her first Wimbledon quarter-final, after
taking out Frazier 6-4 7-5.
The 17-year-old Russian, who reached the fourth round on her debut here last
year, lost two out of her first three service games but broke again in the
eighth to square the set at 4-4.
She will now meet Japanese Ai Sugiyama for a place in the last four.
The 11th seed came through her test against Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-3 7-5.
French teenager Tatiana Golovin booked a fourth-round appointment with
defending champion Serena Williams after completing her match with Emmanuelle
Gagliardi.
Golovin's tie was one of two to be held over from 'People's Sunday' after the
rain brought a halt to her clash with the scores level at one-set all, 3-3 and
deuce.
The Russian-born 16-year-old, making her Wimbledon debut, wasted no time in
taking the next two points to break serve on court two.
Golovin held serve with an ace and clinched a 6-3 2-6 6-3 victory with a
powerful smash to set up her first meeting with Williams.
Silvia Farina Elia was pushed all the way before beating unseeded Spaniard Virginia Ruano Pascual.
14th seed Farina Elia never had things all her own way against Ruano Pascual, who has enjoyed a fine tournament despite being brought up on clay.
Farina Elia, who had not lost a set until this match, looked to be struggling as she dropped the opener 6-2.
Yet the Italian regrouped in the next, and promptly levelled up after some fine play from the baseline.
The decider was a tense affair, with both players looking for an opening.
However, when it mattered most it was Farina Elia who came up with the goods to record a tight 2-6 6-4 7-5 victory.
SW19 surprise package Sprem proved too hot for seasoned campaigner Magdalena Maleeva.
Sprem, who sensationally knocked out former Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in rond two, twice broke her opponent and produced 13 winners in the opening set to take it 6-4.
There were more breaks than holds in the second set as both girls struggled on their own serve.
Maleeva, the 29-year-old world number 24 who has never been past the fourth round in 12 previous visits to Wimbledon, used her vast experience to stay in the match, saving one match point in the ninth game of the second set.
The unseeded Sprem, who was nursing a bandaged right ankle, was twice sent sprawling as she served for the match and needed the assistance of a ninth ace to secure a 6-4 6-4 success and set up a last-eight berth.
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