Grosjean at home on grass

For a French baseliner who is supposed to be overcome by hay fever at the mere sight of a grass court, Sebastien Grosjean has a strange liking for the lawns of Wimbledon. As dark clouds descended on this nation's sporting summer on Wednesday evening, the 10th seed defied the showers to storm into his second successive semi-final where he will meet defending champion Roger Federer today.

With the rest of the All England Club distracted by Henman hysteria, Grosjean has taken advantage of his relative anonymity to pass quietly through the rounds and, unlike his opponent today, has not dropped a set in the Championships. It's surely time his threat was taken seriously.

Grosjean's record makes a mockery of the myth that the French can't play on grass.

As well as successive semi-finals here he has reached the final at Queen's for the past two years, losing to Andy Roddick on both occasions, and won the Samsung Open in Nottingham four years ago.

Grosjean is actually more comfortable at Wimbledon than on the clay of his home Grand Slam at Roland Garros, as grass is the surface most similar to the hard courts he grew up on in Marseilles.

He said: "I'm very comfortable on grass and my serve is better than on clay. It's a little bit faster and I use the slice serve more often.

"I return well and that helps me a lot on the grass. It's more of a game on that court and I just try to enjoy myself. Grass is a surface I love to play on and I'll just go out there and play my game."

Although Federer is the clear favourite, Grosjean has the game to trouble the Swiss if he slips below his mesmeric best, relying on a big serve, quick hands and a devastating forehand. The 26-year-old's serving has been more impressive than Federer's in the past fortnight and he boasts more aces to his name at a faster pace.

The Frenchman added: "For sure he's the best player on the tour, especially on grass, but against him I have nothing to lose. In the semis everything can happen. I have to try to play aggressively and enjoy my match on court."

Grosjean also has a good record against Federer, with two victories from three matches, but the No1 seed is a completely different player from their last meeting in Sydney three years ago.

Federer has transformed himself from a talented dilettante with a questionable temperament to someone capable of dominating the men's tour for years, but he is not taking Grosjean's challenge lightly.

Federer said: "I'm much more experienced and have a lot more confidence. I have a solid base on the conditioning and the mental side. For me, things have really changed and I now look at tennis in a different way than I used to.

"I'm really looking forward to the match because we've only played each other three times on the tour. I was supposed to play him twice in the Davis Cup but he was injured, so it's nice to get the opportunity.

"He's been going through the draw quite comfortably and he's a very tricky player to play against. He returns well, his first serve is very good and he moves well. That is a dangerous combination. He has a lot of weapons."

In the other semi-final, Roddick should win the battle of the big servers against Mario Ancic, but Tim Henman's humbling acts as a cautionary tale.

The American beat Ancic in three sets on the way to defending his title at Queen's but is expecting a tougher match today.

Roddick said: "I was lucky to beat him at Queen's so I knew he could play.

"I don't know what's in the water in Croatia but it seems like every player there is over seven feet tall. He's playing a lot better, he's more experienced and is committed to every shot."

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