Rusedski fails to hold nerve in shoot-out

TENNIS/Wembledon Championships: Rusedseki's Ridge, the picnickers' favourite location at the All England Club and just outside Centre Court, fell silent. The soap opera which is the daily observance of the giant-screen progress of Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman yesterday lost half of the cast.

The Ridge will now become Henman's Hill for the remainder of the competition. A small Canadian-British flag will fly at half-mast in the minds of the day trippers, a reminder of what soaring expectation, saturation coverage and jitters can do to a local hope.

In a shoot-out of one set, held over from Monday because of bad light, Rusedski's nemesis was the talented Belgian Xavier Malisse, a clay court player, seven years younger, pony-tailed and 11 tour titles lighter in the pocket.

With the match poised at two sets each, the players were marched onto Centre Court knowing that the first fraying of nerves, the slightest hesitation and the quickest to get their game grooved for the sprint would win the prize of a quarter-final place. So, what chance had Rusedski?

The favourite served first and the match progressed according to plan, the British number two taking Malisse to deuce in the sixth game. But the 21-year-old survived that threat and immediately turned the match next game, capitalising on his first break point as Rusedski rushed a volley into the net.

One missed volley. One broken serve and Rusedski's chances of making the quarter-finals for only the second time evaporated.

Malisse, playing with a wonderful forehand, cut Rusedski down so frequently on his approaches that the 28-year-old was forced to, unnaturally, play from the back of the court.

Malisse did show a little nervousness as he closed out the match. Offering his opponent two break points, Rusedski wasted one of them with a miscued forehand down the line to hand back the advantage before Malisse dusted him off 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

"I don't think I was too stressed. Tennis comes down to one or two points," said Rusedski. "He took his chances and I didn't take mine.

"It came down to two balls at the end, one volley and one forehand up the line. He took advantage.

"I think I played the better tennis over five sets but I didn't take the opportunities. Certainly it was a great opportunity and it is very disappointing, but I will just have to come back next year

"I can just wish Tim all the best now. He is one of eight guys left in the tournament so must have a great chance of winning."

Rusedski also observed that the courts were much slower than usual, a factor that may help the natural baseline players left in the draw.

"It's just the way the grass is grown or something, plus the dry weather. It's a combination of a few things. I mean, it's the ball, it's the court - but that's not an excuse.

"Maybe next year they'll keep the grass a little bit quicker. Who knows? I'm still young, I'm only 28 so I've got a few more years left in me to do well."

Meanwhile, Mark Philippoussis and Richard Krajicek fled Court One as the evening rain fell after four grinding sets 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-7. They will resume their serving tirade today.