Henman reaches semis

Tim Henman put himself on course for another meeting with Roger Federer in the final of the AIG Japan Open after a 6-2 6-2 victory over Mario Ancic.

Henman had to play both a third-round and quarter-final match on Friday, because heavy rain interrupted the schedule.

But he came through both to book a last-four match against Korea's ninth seed Hyung-Taik Lee - with Federer and unseeded German Benjamin Becker set to play in Saturday's other semi-final.

Big-serving Mario Ancic looked a likely stumbling block for Henman in a last-eight meeting which did not get under way until after 10pm local time.

But number three seed Ancic, who had endured a tough three-setter against Rainer Schuttler in the last 16, was never in a position to confirm his superiority on his way to straight-sets defeat against an in-form opponent rated seven places below him in this tournament.