Tim Henman's historical position is secure. A semi-final place at the French Open has silenced critics but increased the number of voices clambering to commit him to the Wimbledon crusade.

Henman is an unlikely knight. He has the ability to be crushed by expectation. His game isn't that of the street fighter, but is based on touch and tactics, movement and precision. Henman is not like Lleyton Hewitt, who leaves his insides on the court; rather his serenity and containment are occasionally interpreted as lack of spirit. When you hope to see the devil in him, he shows you his Oxford upbringing and stoic good sense.

This week has been an episode of cheerleading but in reality Henman has already performed his main task and kept afloat the notion that British tennis is healthy and that he deserves to be ranked fifth in the world. But when Spain's Carlos Moya was asked, after his quarter-final defeat by Guillermo Coria, whether Henman could win today's match against the Argentinian, he laughed out loud.

Moya knows something about clay-court tennis. He won here in 1998 and was runner-up the year before and when he laughs at the suggestion Henman might beat Coria in a clay-court semi-final, it is not disrespect but a candid reaction to what he perceives as a ludicrous notion.

Coria is the best mover around the court at this tournament and his instincts are pure. He hits the corners of the back court at will, and if required he will retrieve balls from the first three rows of the bleachers on Court Philippe Chatrier. He also comes with a history and if Henman is in the process of rehabilitating his name as a top-10 player, Coria is undertaking a more difficult task. The 22-year-old is hoping to become the first tennis player to leave behind the slur of a positive drugs test and win a Grand Slam final.

In 2001 Coria tested positive for nandrolone, the same substance found in Greg Rusedski's system, and was given a seven-month ban, which began at the end of the year and ran into 2002. Coria is still stung by the belief in the locker-room that he deserved a longer ban.

It was when he came back from inactivity in 2002 that Henman beat him on clay in the first round at the Monte Carlo Open.

But over the last six months Henman has sharpened his game. He brought in the old coach of Pete Sampras, Paul Annacone, and out went Larry Stefanki. Annacone's influence was almost immediately apparent.

"When you have someone like Paul, who was with Pete Sampras for nine Grand Slams, somebody who has been through that, then surely he has something to offer," says Henman. "I've known Paul since about 1995 and he definitely thinks the same way as I do. My serve wasn't a weapon at last year's Wimbledon and over a period of time - five matches - that wears you down. It was a struggle."

Thus far Henman's run has verged on the absurd. He arrived in Paris lethargic after a virus; he even had an ECG to make sure his heart was strong enough to allow him play with a stressed body.

Subsequently he achieved what no Briton had for 41 years and all on a surface he despises. No one thinks he can beat Coria just as everyone believed that this week he'd be bashing balls with Rusedski on the grass in the Surbiton Trophy.

In Argentina they call Coria El Mago, the Magician. As it is for most of the South American, Spanish and French players, this is his Wimbledon. At 5ft 9ins, he is in the Hewitt mould but moves better on the clay than the Australian. With 47 wins from 49 clay-court matches stretching back to the beginning of 2003, Coria has been more than impressive. He also hasn't dropped a set over the last 11 days. Still he is cautious.

"I know that against Henman, I could lose and I could win," said Coria. "I want to just make sure that I have done everything possible to win. I know he is a very dangerous player. I am not surprised he is in the semi-final. He is very fit. He is a player who everyone respects, in particular when he is in top form."

Seeking a historic final, this is Henman's top form. His difficulty is that he will meet an Argentinian also out to make history.