Pint-sized Rochus belies his stature

The baby-faced Belgian Olivier Rochus stood tall in the land of the tennis giants yesterday by conceding six inches to Finland's Jarkko Nieminen and despatching the 30th seed in straight sets, 7-6 6-3 6-1.

At 5ft 5in, Rochus is smaller than anyone on the circuit, including his older brother Christophe (a first-round loser here). Now, for the first time in 13 Grand Slam tournaments, he has reached the round of 16, where he will meet the German Alexander Popp.

Nieminen had made hard work of two previous victories but did not seem in the mood for any sort of work after surrendering a 3-0 lead in the first set and losing it on a tie-break.

"It was strange," Rochus admitted. "After that set I saw him a little bit down all the time. I was fighting but I think he was in the lockers. It's hard to stay focused when you see somebody not 100 per cent in the match. It's tough for you to play your game. But I just hung in there." Not a lot of hanging was required, so feebly did the Finn capitulate after becoming the first of his countrymen to make Wimbledon's last 32.

Rochus might even have given up the sport at an early age had he taken the advice of those pessimistic about his failure to grow. Instead he has become the male lead in the current renaissance of Belgian tennis.

"I heard some of these things when I was playing at under-14," he said. "Then they tell me: 'Is gonna be tough for you at 16'. The same with the juniors: 'Is going to be tough for you playing against the bigger guy'. I just keep trying to play my game. In the seniors, after one year I was almost top 100. Now I hope I can be an example for the small guy coming on to the tour. That would be great."

Of the next task he said: "I played Popp two years ago in a challenger event in Germany, indoors. He won 7-6 6-4. He's very tough. With his game on a fast court, it's one of the best. So we'll see."

It will be an interesting sight when he shakes hands with the 6ft 7in German, though not a unique one - Rochus once took on the 6ft 10in Ivo Karlovic and lived to tell the tale.

For his part, Popp claimed the scalp of the 11th seeded Czech, Jiri Novak, to set up the fourth-round clash on Monday. The son of an English mother and German father who says he has no desire to fly under the British flag, Popp won in straight sets, 6-3 6-4 7-6, and will equal his best Grand Slam showing if he can get past Rochus.