LONDON, 1 July 2004 — Croatia’s Mario Ancic stepped out of the giant shadow of countryman and former champion Goran Ivanisevic yesterday to crush Tim Henman’s Wimbledon dream and set up a semifinal clash with fellow young gun Andy Roddick.
Ancic, unseeded and just 20 years old, put on a classic Center Court display of serve and volley tennis to clinch a breathtaking 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-2 quarterfinal win over the fifth seeded Henman whose best years now, surely, are behind him.
Defending champion Roger Federer overcame a battling challenge from 2002 winner Lleyton Hewitt of Australia to clinch a 6-1, 6-7 (1-7), 6-0, 6-4 victory and move into the Wimbledon semifinals.
The Swiss top seed lost his first set of the tournament when Hewitt won the second set tiebreak 7-1, but eventually quelled the battling 2002 champion with his all-court mastery.
Hewitt, who had an 8-4 win-loss record against the Swiss before the quarterfinal, fought like a demon and even broke Federer’s previously impregnable serve before the champion hit back twice, sealing victory when Hewitt double-faulted.
France’s Sebastien Grosjean reached the semifinals for the second straight year by defeating Florian Mayer of Germany 7-5, 6-4, 6-2.
The 26-year-old 10th seed came into the quarterfinal a strong favorite against 20-year-old Mayer who had only played one match on grass prior to Wimbledon.
Second seed Andy Roddick, still only 21, reached his second successive semifinal by outlasting Dutchman Sjeng Schalken 7-6 (7-4), 7 6 (11-9), 6-3.
Ancic, who used to practice with his legendary countryman Ivanisevic when he was a boy, brought to an end for another year home hopes of a first British men’s champion for 68 years.
It was Ivanisevic who destroyed 29-year-old Henman’s hopes on Center Court in a marathon semifinal duel in 2001 and it was the great man’s natural heir who handed out a repeat dose of misery yesterday.
Henman was completely outplayed by a player ranked 63 in the world but who had already tasted glory here before when, as a qualifier, he beat Roger Federer on the same court in 2002.
Yesterday’s defeat was his second successive quarterfinal having lost in the last eight to Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean in 2003.
Meanwhile, Amelie Mauresmo set up a semifinal re-match with champion Serena Williams after overcoming Argentina’s Paola Suarez 6-0, 5-7, 6-1 in a seesaw contest.
The fourth seeded Frenchwoman, who missed last year’s grasscourt grand slam through injury, will face Serena in a repeat of the 2002 semifinal which the American won 6-2, 6-1.
Bidding to reach her second grand slam final after the 1999 Australian Open, Mauresmo will have to be on top form to topple the top seed who thrashed Jennifer Capriati 6-1, 6-1 yesterday. “It’s great,” the Frenchwoman said. “She is obviously playing really well so I am looking forward to it.
“I had some troubles a few years ago to find what my game was on this surface but when I reached the semifinal a couple of years ago, I thought to myself ‘okay, that’s the way I need to play’,” she added snapping her fingers.
Away from the pressure cooker of the French Open, where public expectation always seems to scupper her hopes of a maiden grand slam title, the amiable Mauresmo is hitting freely on Wimbledon’s grass.
“Coming out of the French wasn’t very easy for me but I went back to quickly after that,” said the 24-year-old, who lost in the last eight at Roland Garros.
