It was probably never realistic, given that Tim Henman had already qualified for today's semifinals of the ATP Tour Championship Finals, that yesterday's all-British encounter with Greg Rusedski in Hanover was going to hit the heights, but nobody, least of all the near-capacity crowd, expected the British number one to perform quite so abjectly, Rusedski winning 6-2, 6-4.

No amount of post-match apologies, which were profuse, could disguise the fact that this was a performance born out of expediency. Had Henman's first serves, ground strokes and volleys hit their target from the start it might have been a competitive match. But once his initial efforts failed miserably there was absolutely no imperative to raise his game again, save briefly when the crowd got on his back in the second set.

The defeat, after all, had no bearing on this afternoon's match against Carlos Moya of Spain, who had earlier secured his place in the last four with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Rusedski was delighted with the win, his second in succession over Henman, for it secured his place in the world's top 10 for a second successive year. But Henman was so poor that Rusedski needed to do little more than keep the ball in play to secure the victory.

Much had been written about their rivalry, the true nature of which will doubtless be more credibly tested as next year unfolds. This was not a contest in any meaningful sense. "I think Greg had a lot to play for and his performance showed it," said Henman, without quite being able to admit that the opposite was also true: that he had nothing to play for and it showed horribly.

In sharp contrast to the all-British match, Moya's victory against Kafelnikov, a winner-take-all battle, was tense and thrilling. Moya seized the early initiative for a 3-1 first-set lead, only to throw it away.

Breaks of serve became the rule before the 22-year-old Spaniard managed to save two break points and hold his serve. The tennis argument had been fascinating but not conclusive, with Kafelnikov, who defeated Moya in last year's semi-final before losing to Sampras, threatening to shout him down in the second set.

Significantly Moya began to serve with more resolve, crucially in the 10th game when, at 0-30 down, he produced four first serves of exceptional quality. Kafelnikov's resolution wavered and a final weary backhand return into the net saw Moya leap with delight.

Rusedski's win gave him a slim hope of meeting Sampras in the other semi. All he needed was for Albert Costa, another reserve, to beat his compatriot Corretja. Some chance. Costa has never won an indoor match. Had he done so here he might never have got back into Spain. Corretja duly won 6-2, 6-4. So Corretja will play Sampras later today.