BRITAIN'S Tim Henman displayed the nerves of an accomplished gambler to reach the semifinals of the casino tournament of tennis yesterday - the lucrative Grand Slam Cup.

Henman showed a killer instinct and experience beyond his 22 years to defeat Wimbledon finalist MaliVai Washington of the US 7-6, 6-3 in 75 minutes, earning $431,250 in the process.

Henman, who only got into the tournament after late withdrawals, now takes on local hero and Australian Open champion Boris Becker in tomorrow's semi-finals where $812,500 will be at stake. The winner will get a shot at the top prize of $1.625 million.

Becker booked his place in the last four with a straightforward 6-4, 6-1 defeat of Swiss Jakob Hlasek.

Henman is the first British player to contest the $6 million Cup, the richest tournament in the game. But the Englishman showed superb composure in a tight first- set which he clinched 7-3 in the tie-break.

After that Henman ran away with the match, breaking Washington's serve in the second and fourth games of the second.