Richard Gasquet stunned Wimbledon by staging a remarkable fightback to topple third seed Andy Roddick 4-6 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-3) 8-6 and secure a semi-final against Roger Federer.

But after the match the Frenchman was then stunned to learn his reward is a noon start on Saturday.

Gasquet emulated compatriot Marion Bartoli, who earlier had sprung one of the greatest upsets at SW19 by defeating Justine Henin for a place in the final, to complete a memorable day for France.

Intimidated by his first Grand Slam quarter-final, Gasquet allowed powerful American number one Roddick to bludgeon his way into a two-set lead.

But the turning point came in the eighth game of the third set when Roddick went to pieces on his own service and Gasquet broke back, remaining in control from then on.

The 21-year-old, ranked 14 in the world, possessed a more rounded game than the one-dimensional Roddick and played some sublime shots that left his opponent bewildered.

Nerves seemed to get the better of him early in the match as he conceded a break point in the first and third games.

Frequent forays to the net began paying dividends for Gasquet while Roddick, whose own service looked predictably impenetrable, was glued to the baseline.

Play went with service until the eighth game when Roddick finally made the crucial breakthrough, with some powerful strokes and a couple of errors from Gasquet doing the damage.

The Frenchman came under pressure early in the second set, conceding a break point only for a well-placed serve to leave Roddick scrambling at thin air.

Two identical blunders then allowed Roddick to break in the fifth game with Gasquet twice hitting routine drop shots into the net.

Gasquet appeared to have saved a second break point when his backhand down the line was called in but Roddick, who had already failed with two Hawk-eye challenges, was more successful the third time - though only by the narrowest of margins.

Roddick raced into a 2-0 lead early in the third set as Gasquet sensed the inevitable, frustrated by his inability to make any impact on his opponent's serve.

But just as the match looked to heading to its inevitable conclusion, the crowd were shaken out of their silence.

Roddick conceded two break points with a double fault and then fired a forehand wide to allow Gasquet to level at 4-4.

Gasquet got a new lease of life and battled for every ball, saving a break point in the 11th before closing out the game in style with a dashing passing shot.

The set went to a tie-break which was dominated by Gasquet, securing four set points but only needing the first.

Gasquet's momentum continued into the fourth set but he could not convert two break points as Roddick continued to have difficulty on his own serve.

Tension gripped Court One and Gasquet, playing with a freedom that had been missing earlier, who was producing the more flamboyant shots.

The set went into another tie-break, Gasquet seizing control with a stunning forehand that gave a stranded Roddick no chance.

The bemused American could only shake his head in disbelief as another forehand sailed past to give Gasquet five set points.

Roddick rallied briefly but he was only delaying the inevitable with a sensational backhand from the Frenchman squaring matters.

The rivals could not be separated but Gasquet was continuing to catch the eye with some sublime backhands.

However from 5-4 onwards Roddick was serving to stay in the match every other game, heaping pressure on the American.

The crucial breakthrough finally came in the 14th when Gasquet fired a magnificent forehand to the right corner to secure two match points.

Only the first was required as Roddick raced into the net to return a simple shot - but he directed the ball into the net.

Now, with both men's semis being staged simultaneously on Saturday before the ladies' final, Gasquet has precious little time to celebrate his shock triumph before meeting Federer.

"I play at noon? Really? That's unfair because of the rain there has been. Playing at noon is hard. It's not good news for me," said Gasquet.

"In my head I played maybe 10 times against Roddick because I was waiting two days in the locker room for the match.

"The match between Djokovic and Baghdatis took so long. It was hard to wait for that long. I'm tired as I played for a long time with a lot of pressure."

Before Friday, Roddick had won his last 18 tie-breaks stretching back to February but Gasquet took both convincingly, before closing out the decider in impressive fashion.

"After losing two sets, I decided to play more aggressive tennis - to play with my backhand, to go to the net, to serve better and to fight," he said.

"I thought I had nothing to lose after the first two sets so there was no pressure on me.

"Roddick was under a bit of pressure because he lost his serve in the third set and started missing some shots."

Gasquet now hopes he can build on his success even further.

"This is a great day for me and I want this to be the beginning of my career," he said.

"It was really hard for me with the pressure in France because I played maybe too well too early in my career.

"At 16 years old I wasn't ready to support this pressure, all the journalists, all the crowds and all the people. It was really hard for me."

Roddick, a finalist at the All England Club in 2004 and 2005, was visibly shaken by his defeat.

"This is another lost opportunity for me at Wimbledon. I'd love for people to understand what it feels like in the pit of my stomach right now," he said.

"I'm not articulate enough to put it into words. Maybe tomorrow I'll wake up and have a better perspective on things."