Henman tumbles in Stuttgart

Haas celebrates after beating Henman

Tommy Haas (Ger) bt Tim Henman (GB) 2-6 6-3 6-4

Britain's Tim Henman was defeated in three sets by Tommy Haas in the Stuttgart Masters quarter-finals.

The defeat leaves him in ninth position in the Champions Race and facing a struggle to qualify for the Masters Cup.

The top seven players in the race standings will go to Sydney with Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic joining them as a Grand Slam winner.

Seventh seed Henman had started confidently as he sought a Stuttgart semi-final and took the first set 6-2.

Haas deserved to win with the way he played in the second and third sets

Tim Henman

But his in-form German opponent, seeded 15, showed resilience to claim the second set 6-3.

And then the Olympic silver medallist, who won his third title of the year in Vienna on Sunday, wrapped up the win by clinching the fourth set 6-4.

Haas will now meet Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the last four, with Yevgeny Kaeflnikov taking on Pete Sampras' conqueror Max Mirnyi.

Hewitt could move to number one in the world rankings if he wins his third consecutive tournament.

Henman relied on his serve and volley game to take the first set in just 33 minutes.

But he could not resist a comeback from the in-form German, who delighted his home fans by firing a service winner on match point after just over two hours.