Henman eases through

Henman dropped only one game on his way to victory

Tim Henman boosted his chances of making the Masters Cup at the end of the season by reaching the semi-finals of the Swiss indoor tournament in Basle.

Second-seeded Henman cruised past Switzerland's Michel Kratochvil 6-0 6-1 to set up a last-four meeting with seventh seed Carlos Moya.

Kratochvil detained the Briton for just 45 minutes and the Swiss player finished the match in bizarre fashion when he hit his final serve straight into the ground in disgust.

Henman, 27, has an impressive record in the event.

He won the tournament in 1998 and reached the final the following year before losing to Andre Agassi, as well as making it to the semi-finals last year.

Thrilling

His semi-final opponent, Moya, advanced to his fifth semi-final of the season with a 7-6 7-6 win over Russia's Nikolai Davidenko.

Fourth seed Roger Federer reached the semi-finals for the successive second year despite losing the first set to American teenager Andy Roddick.

Federer, who was a ball boy at the tournament for three years while growing up, rallied to claim a thrilling 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7/5) victory.

The Swiss player will now meet Frenchman Julien Boutter, who beat Swiss wildcard George Bastl 2-6 7-6 (7/2) 7-6 (9/7).