Henman reaches semis

Henman took time to find form against Gaudio

Tim Henman overcame early nerves to beat Gaston Gaudio 6-3 6-2 and secure his place in the semi-finals of the Pacific Life Open.

The margin of victory did not reflect the early frustrations for the British number one who rarely displayed the flowing tennis which took him so impressively past Marat Safin.

In the searing heat of Indian Wells, Henman lost his first two service games, and could have found himself in trouble were it not for some wayward serving by his opponent - and one fortuitous line call.

That said, the Briton clearly grew in confidence as the match progressed and produced some spectacular winners.

Gaudio's concentration wavered before the end, and his record of taking just two out of 14 break points tells the story of the match.

I wasn't able to close it out quite as comfortably as I'd like

Tim Henman

Henman said he was pleased to save so many break points, but admitted he should not have afforded his opponent so much opportunity.

"I felt like I served particularly well [facing break points], but on the other side, you don't really want to be putting yourself in that situation," he said.

"So I take a little confidence out of it, but I'm also aware that I need to probably try and start the sets a little bit better."

He added: "I''d dearly love to win one, especially this one because I think, outside of a Slam, this is probably most people's favourite event."

During a bizarre opening, the first four games all went against serve. But Henman took the psychological advantage, twice breaking back straight away after losing serve.

It took time for him to settle, but his obvious frustration at losing serve so easily seemed to focus his attention.

Gaudio was unable to take advantage of Henman's erros

After holding serve, he broke Gaudio again and began to get on top of the Argentine's tactic of playing on the baseline.

It was not until the eighth game that Gaudio finally held serve, but Henman was already 5-3 ahead, and he held serve to take the first set.

Lucky break

The Briton enjoyed a slice of luck at a key moment during the second set. Serving at 0-40 in the second game - already 0-1 behind - a Henman forehand was incorrectly called in by the line judge.

Television replays showed the ball was clearly out, and at 2-0 down, the game could have been different.

But he took full advantage of his fortune, winning the game, then breaking Gaudio and holding to move 3-1 up.

The South American held to go 2-3 - but Henman dominated from then on, finally finding his rhythm and winning the next three games to give the scoreline a slightly misleading sheen.

"I wasn't able to close it out quite as comfortably as I'd like," admitted Henman.

"Again, I got the job done, that's the most important thing."

The Briton now faces Todd Martin who beat Yevgeny Kafelnikov 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.