The world number one, Pete Sampras, shrugged off his third-round loss to Australian Mark Woodforde at Queen's Club London yesterday and kept his thoughts on the bigger picture.
"I'm disappointed, but my main goal is Wimbledon," said the four-time Wimbledon champion. "It would have been nice to get the win and the confidence. But I'll go to Wimbledon hoping for a better performance."
Sampras avoided the media after the 6-3, 6-2 loss on grass, perhaps his best surface, only resurfacing when his doubles match alongside Tim Henman was unable to get started because of Henman's commitment in the singles quarter-finals.
Rain held up play during the week but yesterday's lack of rain enabled the third round and quarter-finals to be played on the same day.
Henman, the seventh seed, shocked his home crowd with a 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 loss which put Italian qualifier Laurence Tieleman into the semi-finals. The Briton failed to take advantage of his chances, having served for the match at 5-2 in the second set and having a match point at 5-4.
In the semi-finals, 25-year-old Tieleman will face Byron Black, Zimbabwe's 14th seed, who defeated Brian MacPhie of the United States 7-5, 6-1.
The second semi-final will be an all-Australian affair. Woodforde, seeded 15th, completed his second upset of the day when he defeated eighth-seeded Swede Thomas Enqvist 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.
Queenslander Scott Draper booked his place against his 32year-old compatriot with a 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7-5) win over American Doug Flach.
Second seed Greg Rusedski failed to complete his match against Tieleman after spraining his left ankle at 2-2, 30-all in the opening set. The Canadianturned-Briton slipped in the fifth game as he ran for a short ball from the world number 253.
Rusedski yelled in pain as he fell and was helped off the court after five minutes on the ground. He was given a strapping and ice and sent to hospital for x-rays.
Doctors said he would rest until early next week, when intensive physiotherapy would begin. "It's impossible to say if he will be fit for Wimbledon," said tournament doctor Johnny Gaynor.
The exit of Rusedski completed the rout of the top four seeds in the third round. Patrick Rafter lost his opening match earlier this week and Swede Jonas Bjorkman was eliminated yesterday by Byron Black 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
In the ATP grasscourt tournament at Halle, Germany, Richard Krajicek became the fourth big name to crash out when he was beaten by Swede Magnus Larsson yesterday. The former Wimbledon champion followed Boris Becker, Petr Korda and Carlos Moya after going down 6-4, 6-2. It was an encouraging performance from Larsson after the mystery virus which has upset much of his season and sent him tumbling from the top 50 for the first time in 20 months. He served and volleyed relentlessly.
Krajicek said: "I didn't think he would play this way, coming in all the time. It was pretty slippery and I wasn't able to make my second shot."
"It doesn't feel like I have had a real grass court match yet, because I have played two baseliners and now, on the first day I have a chance for a good practice, I get a lesson." Yevgeny Kafelnikov defeated another Swede, Magnus Norman, 7-6, 6-2 despite being down 6-5 in the first set with Norman serving for the set.
Regular foot-faults put Norman off his game. In the second set, he stared at the line judge after he had been foot-faulted again, then shaped up to serve from eight feet behind the baseline.
"It's a long time since I won three matches and reached a semifinal," said Kafelnikov, who has been in tepid form since his triumph at the Battersea Park tournament in London in February.
"I have a nice feeling and would like to win this tournament now."
The second seed meets another Swede, Thomas Johansson, in a semi-final; the other semi-final will be between Larsson and Paul Haarhuis of the Netherlands.
