Henman sinks Hrbaty to reach semi-final

Fifth seed Tim Henman defeated Dominik Hrbaty 6-1, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, his third straight five-set win to reach his first US Open semi final.

Fifth seed Tim Henman of Britain defeated Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty 6-1, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the US Open for the first time in his career.

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Henman, who also made the last four of the French Open in June, will now face either top seed Roger Federer of Switzerland for a place in Sunday's final.

Henman, who turned 30 on Monday, posted his third straight five-set win, including a triumph in the fourth round over Germany's Nicolas Kiefer, who was forced to retire with a wrist injury.

He hammered nine aces and 51 winners against the Slovakian's 11 double faults in the two hour, 37 minute match that ran over two days.

The match was schedule for Wednesday but heavy rain wreaked havoc with the schedule and it was postponed to Thursday with Henman leading 6-1, 7-5, 4-5.

The difficult conditions continued on Thursday as swirling winds hampered play.