Roddick, Henin Blow Leads in Wimbledon Stunners

Bartoli, who crushes the ball with two hands on both her forehand and backhand, hit a hot streak after Henin relaxed up a set and a break, then never looked back in overpowering the Belgian who was again denied a shot at a first Wimbledon championship.

"I still don't really realize what did happen," Henin said. "I played a very good first set, then I had a couple of chances at the end of the second set. Didn't take these chances and the match completely turned over."

Bartoli had never been past the 4th round in 22 Grand Slam appearances, with a 4-4 Wimbledon win-loss entering this year's event.

"I'm so excited to be in the final, it's a dream come true," Bartoli said. "I was so stressed in the first set because it was my first time on Centre Court but then I just forgot about who I was playing and played the ball."

Henin attributed the loss, easily the biggest upset thus far in 2007, to a mental breakdown.

"I'm not quite sure it's a question of pressure about winning here," Henin said. "You know, I lost a lot of energy in the last few weeks. My match against Serena [Williams] also has been very tough mentally, emotionally. It was hard for me to be at my best today."

Henin, for the record, won the first set in 22 minutes before she found it hard to be at her best.

In the final Bartoli will face No. 23 seed Venus Williams, who overpowered No. 6 Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 6-4.

"I've been counted out so many times," said Williams of her low seeding and injuries this year. "And it's okay with me. I've been unlucky with injuries. That happens. But I think that I've had a little spell now where I felt good. I've had a chance to get ready. It's all coming together."

It will be the first career meeting between Venus Williams and Bartoli, and for NBC perhaps a short "Breakfast at Wimbledon" where viewers will be wise to eat fast if they want to get a meal in before the trophy-raising ceremony.

Roddick Blows Huge Lead to Exit Wimbledon

Andy Roddick looked to be on cruise control up two sets and a break Friday against Richard Gasquet in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, but the mercurial Frenchman's game came on-line and Roddick quickly went from a potential meeting with Roger Federer to exit-stage-left in a 4-6, 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(3), 8-6 loss.

"It's tough when you double your winners to unforced errors and lose," said Roddick, who Wimbledon officials were placing on suicide watch after the American made a zombie-like appearance in his post-match interview. "I'd love to make you try to understand what it feels like in the pit of your stomach right now, but I don't know if I can do that."

Beginning in the third set the French shot-maker's groundstrokes finally began to find their mark while Roddick, who entered the match with an 18-consecutive tiebreak streak, saw his fearsome demeanor overwhelmed by the Frenchman's surge of confidence.

"When I play good with my serve and my backhand I am really dangerous," Gasquet said.

Also into the semifinals Friday were world No. 1 Roger Federer who subdued No. 20 Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-1, 6-3; world No. 2 Rafael Nadal who watched No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych unravel 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-2; and No. 4 Novak Djokovic who staged an amazing fifth-set comeback with a back injury against No. 10 Marcos Baghdatis, topping the Cypriot 7-6(4), 7-6(9), 6-7(3), 4-6, 7-5.

"This is the best tennis I played in my life," said Djokovic after the five-hour win that will undoubtedly leave him hurting for his Saturday meeting against Nadal. "These six months have been incredible for me."

Nadal will be a heavy favorite to again meet Federer in the final.

"I had to concentrate with the movement because the ball was very difficult to touch," Nadal said of the breezy conditions. "Today was very tough with the wind, but anyway I played very good."

Nadal leads Djokovic 4-1 in their career meetings, while Federer leads Gasquet 5-1.

"He's physically probably the most prepared player in the world," Djokovic said of Nadal. "We all know that. But I'll try to do my best to recover."

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Roger Federer has won 52 straight matches on grass, and 32 straight at Wimbledon...Andy Roddick had won 18 straight tiebreaks until Friday when he dropped two straight...Richard Gasquet had never overcome a 2-0 set deficit until Friday...Somehow, Andy Roddick figured coming in to Richard Gasquet's forehand was a good idea...Roger Federer has reached 13 straight Slam finals...Andy Roddick had blown a two-set lead twice in his career before Friday -- Andrei Pavel in Davis Cup, and Jose Acasuso at Roland Garros...Novak Djokovic is in his second straight Slam semifinal. Djokovic has played 9 hours, 12 minutes in the last two days, and now faces the fittest player on the tour, Rafael Nadal. Punter alert, bet the house...Venus Williams is a perfect 6-0 in Wimbledon semifinal matches...The weather forecast for the weekend is promising...Anna Kournivova went 0-2 in her World TeamTennis debut for the Sacramento Capitals, losing the mixed doubles with Sam Warburg and the women's doubles with Milagros Sequera...This is the second youngest quartet of men's semifinalists (combined ages) in the Open Era at Wimbledon, with three of the four semifinalists aged 21 or under. The youngest group of semifinalists came in 1977, when Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Vitas Gerulaitis and John McEnroe reached the last four. This is the first time in his 15 Grand Slam semifinal appearances that Roger Federer has been the oldest of the four semifinalists...Roger Federer needed three sets to beat Richard Gasquet in their meeting last year at the Masters Series-Canada...Wimbledon is still 35 matches behind schedule due to the rains...Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych have both pulled from Bastad next week...From ESPN's Greg "The Lawn-Mowing American" Garber: "[Marion] Bartoli, frankly, is not built along the lean lines of many players. Rather, she is solid and often stops to catch her breath after active points. Seeing [Pierce] Brosnan [in the crowd], though, was a wake-up call. "I was focusing on Pierce Brosnan because he is so beautiful," she said. "I was just watching him. He was the only one. I said to myself, 'It's not possible I play so bad in front of him. So I try to feel a bit more the ball, play more smartly. I saw he was cheering for me, so I said, 'Oh, maybe it's good.'"...Looks like Andy Murray will pull from LA...Nice Wimbledon.org promo on ESPN, highlighting two players that are retired from the game, time to update the filmstrip...From ESPN's Bonnie DeSimone: "[Richard] Gasquet appeared stunned by his victory afterwards and even more stunned at the fact that his match with [Roger] Federer is scheduled first on Centre Court, at noon local time, since his own match finished at 8 p.m. "Noon?'' he said incredulously when he was informed by French reporters. "Me? It's not true [French expletive]!" He continued to talk, almost to himself, as he left the interview room. "I thought I was in a little bit of [expletive] when I lost the first two sets and was down in the third," Gasquet said. "I still don't know if I won or not." [Andy] Roddick's loss was certainly an upset and changed the menu for NBC's "Breakfast At Wimbledon" on Saturday. It wasn't exactly "Dewey Defeats Truman," but the network jumped the gun with a press release e-mailed to journalists, dated Friday, that said, "After a rain-filled week, Andy Roddick and Roger Federer will meet again on the grass here at Wimbledon in the semifinals tomorrow. Will Federer roll again to his fifth straight Wimbledon championship or will Roddick finally capture the Wimbledon title that's eluded him?"...Stone.