Henman reaches semis in Adelaide
Tim Henman kept his nerve to beat Thomas Johansson 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 and book a place in the semi-finals of the Australian Hardcourt Championship in Adelaide.
The British No 1 can now look forward to tomorrow's clash with Chile's Nicholas Massu, who beat Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic 6-7, 7-6, 6-2.
Henman came through a match of contrasting styles, with his serve-and-volley approach finally overcoming the baseline play of his Swedish opponent.
The first two sets were decided on tie-breaks but Henman, who had beaten Johansson in two previous meetings, stuck to his task and he broke the Swede's serve to lead 5-3 in the final set and then held his own to clinch victory.
Australia's Jason Stoltenberg had a far easier passage into the semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over the Spaniard Alberto Martin.
Stoltenberg, ranked 66th, will meet either Germany's Tommy Haas, the No 5 seed, or defending champion Lleyton Hewitt.
World No 7 Hewitt, the top seed, has beaten Stoltenberg three times in three years at Adelaide - in the final in 1998, the semi-finals in 1999 and the quarter-finals last year.
Stoltenberg said: "There's no doubt I've found it hard to match his intensity the last few times we've played, but it's not an impossibility.
"I think it's fair to say that if we're both on form, he's probably going to win and if we're both off, he'll probably still win."
Mary Pierce will use next week's Canberra International to launch a comeback after four months nursing a shoulder injury. She said: "I started playing again a few weeks ago and I feel great and very fit."
