Henman needs higher level to beat Hewitt

British No 1 produces an uninspiring display to overcome Brazilian's challenge and secure semi-final berth against top seed

We trust that Tim Henman has not peaked too soon this time around. If he has, we missed it, and the partisans may as well furl their flags for another year.

The 27-year-old British No 1 will have to play the match of his life today against Lleyton Hewitt, the Australian world No 1, otherwise the nation's prospects of hailing its first men's singles champion for 66 years will be counter-punched to oblivion.

In his quest for consistency, Henman has taken something off his serve. Hewitt is likely to take more off it, particularly on a Centre Court rendered slower by the introduction of durable rye grass in the mix.

After losing to Hewitt in straight sets in the first round, Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman said the Centre Court played like a clay court. Although Bjorkman was stretching a point, Henman has noticed that the court is slower and consequently the ball is bouncing higher. "That's an element you've got to deal with," Henman said, "and it's the same for both players."

Hewitt, working from the baseline and relying on his potent service returns to dictate the points, tends to deal with a higher bounce rather better than Henman, whose attacking game is dependent on his serve making enough of an impact to purchase free points, or at least buy time for his splendid volleys.

On the evidence of what we have seen here so far, Hewitt will be confident of extending his sequence of victories against Henman to six when they meet in the semi-finals, even though the 21-year-old Australian came close to losing in five sets yesterday to Sjeng Schalken, a Dutchman upright of posture and character, who was allowed to recover from two sets to love down.

That was Hewitt's first test of the tournament, and he prevailed. Henman, in contrast, has tested his supporters almost as much as himself since making a comfortable start with a straight-sets win against Jean-François Bachelot, a French qualifier.

The torment continued yesterday with another unconvincing display as Henman completed a quarter-final win against Andre Sa, of Brazil, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. Sa, ranked No 90, walked between points with a gait reminiscent of Pete Sampras, and Henman's inability to execute many of his chances encouraged his opponent to attack the net, Sampras-style, and with a deserved ratio of success.

Henman, who managed to secure the opening set before the match was suspended overnight on Wednesday, created two set points with Sa serving at 4-5 in the second set. The Brazilian passed Henman with an impressive backhand to save the first, and served away the second.

Emboldened, Sa cracked Henman's serve in the next game, luring him into overhitting a forehand by returning a second serve. Sa served out the set to 15. The 14,000 crowd on Centre Court and the folk on "Henman Hill" must be growing accustomed to this sort of dip in fortunes: Henman has lost the second set in his last three matches. When Henman proceeded to lose his serve in the opening game of the third set, however, brows began to furrow. Sa was unable to hold his advantage, netting a backhand volley from a Henman return in the next game.

The Brazilian put Henman under pressure again in the third game, prompting the fourth seed to unleash his biggest serve of the day, 121mph, which used to be the Oxfordshire man's par for the course.

Three opportunities came Henman's way with Sa serving at 1-2. The Brazilian saved the first break point with a compact volley, aced the second away, and placed a second serve smartly enough for Henman to find the net on the third. Sa erased another break point with a serve and volley at 3-4, Henman eventually breaking him with a forehand pass down the line on the second set point at 4-5.

Henman's habit of making a fist – with subtlety in his case compared to some – became more frequent, and Sa began to sag after losing the opening three games of the fourth set. Henman went on to clinch the match after three hours and 10 minutes, including 41 minutes between rain delays on Wednesday.

After giving Sa credit, Henman said: "I don't think I've played my best tennis, but I keep doing my best. That's all I can do." He said he was aware of the crowd's apprehension. "That's to be expected, isn't it? There was definitely a bit of anxiety because of the way the second set unfolded. All of a sudden things changed very quickly, and that's when nerves can creep into the crowd.

"I've always tried to state how much I appreciate their support whether it's in the stadium or outside. Hopefully I can keep giving them the results that they want to see."

Henman's humour surfaced when he was asked how he would be able to beat Hewitt. "I'll have to win three sets, won't I?" he said. "Obviously I take in a poor record, and that's clear for everyone to see. I'm going to have to play very, very well. If I play averagely, I would think I'll lose. But if I raise my level, I think I can win."

"There's a lot of pressure on Tim to do well here," Hewitt said. "He's made the semis three times before, and everyone expects so much of him here. Everyone's been asking: 'When is he going to get through to the final and give himself a chance to win?' Maybe this is his opportunity. This is my first time in the semi-finals here. I don't think there's that much added pressure on me. I'll be free out there." He who punches the air last, punches the air longest.