Petr Korda once retired in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament because of a head cold. The legacy of that decision, taken when two sets down to Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman in the 1997 US Open, was shown in his desire to take his place against Tim Henman in yesterday's quarter-final at Wimbledon, despite an achilles tendon injury.

Korda is haunted by the US Open debacle and subsequently recorded his feelings in print, wishing he could he could purge his conscience. It is therefore not surprising that he hobbled onto Centre Court, content in his role as the honourable wounded soldier bravely prepared to defy the odds.

Limp not only describes his gait for much of this ridiculously one-sided contest but also his performance. Conscious of the damage sustained in his defeat of John Van Lottum in the previous round, Korda gingerly manoeuvred himself around the court, yet ludicrously for a man protecting an ailment he twice jumped four feet in the air in his enthusiasm to hit a smash.

Reconciling the two images is impossible. Only Korda knows the true extent of the damage and how much it limited his movement but judging by the vehemence of his protestations in the after-match interviews, he offered scope for speculation. The Czech number three seed was keen to assert that his resolve and fortitude were unquestionable.

When asked to describe the extent of the ankle injury, he managed: "I could feel it. I don't like to give up, that's why I play. I'm that kind of guy." When asked to approximate on how fit he was, Korda railed: "I'm not . . . . you could see that. I don't want to talk about it. I mean if he hit something one metre from me, you know, and I feel that I have one of the best returns in the world and I just can't really move, push it . . . . I gave him a lot of free points.

"I couldn't move the way I need to move. He played a better game but I gave it everything I had. I even gave him some troubles but it was not enough. I put everything I knew into that game and therefore I am not disappointed. How can I be? It was a kind of lottery for me."

Korda then changed tack and found a target for his anger. "When I was playing Van Lottum, we were both guys asking in the middle of the third set not to play any more. That is what I was disappointed in, officials. They didn't want to stop. First of all it was dark and then the court was getting slippery. If I was to stop then, nothing would happen."

The US Open incident was tentatively aired but Korda was dismissive. "Like I told you in the beginning of this press conference, I don't like to give up. I don't. That's why I didn't give up today. I don't like to lose, to be defaulted or whatever, to have to default. I will fight to the last point.

"That is the way I was and that is the way it will be. Nobody is going to change me. The worst and most painful situation for me was, and will be, when I am going to have to retire. I would have to break my legs or something to retire."

Korda's ineptitude will deflect from Henman's hour of glory, becoming the first Englishman to reach the semi-finals since Roger Taylor in 1973, and that is an unfortunate legacy for the 23-yearold from Oxford. He produced near flawless tennis, particularly on serve where he managed to prevent his opponent from mustering a single break point.

Having reached the quarterfinal stage for the previous two years, losing to Todd Martin and Michael Stich respectively, Henman finally broke the hoodoo and now finds his path to the final barred by world number one and four times a champion at the All England club, Pete Sampras.

His performance yesterday, even allowing for the limitations of his opponent, was exceptional and certainly augurs well for tomorrow's semi-final. Henman must ignore the blind euphoria of his vocal support, the unrealistic assurance of the British media, who are positively salivating at the prospect of a Wimbledon champion and simply focus on the gradual improvement that he has managed in every round.

The affable Englishman was keen to dwell on the positive points that emerged from the Korda contest. "It was a great match. I don't think I could have asked for more and I think I am right in saying that I didn't face a break point on my serve and against a guy that returns as well as Korda, that's obviously a good sign of things to come."

Sampras, continued on a hugely impressive and understated march to this juncture with a straight sets victory over big-serving Australian Mark Philippoussis. His 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 advance continued an enviable record of not having dropped a set in this year's tournament.

Sampras has had a previous win over Henman at Wimbledon, a second-round clash, but correctly pointed out that that will have no bearing tomorrow. "I played Tim many years ago but he's obviously a much different player today. I have been in this position before, you know playing Becker in Germany. It will be tough. I mean he's obviously playing well but so I am I, so it's going to be a good match."

Goran Ivanisevic continued his impressive march with a hard fought victory over Dutchman Jam Siemerink, prevailing after three closely fought tie breaks, 7-6 (10), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6) but did take time to explain how he would feel if he was to win Wimbledon and Croatia the World Cup.

"Jesus, probably I don't know. It would be great. The whole country would be drunk for the rest of the year, including me and the team. We celebrate, I put racquets in closet and just come next year."

Mention of Jesus drew a reference to the beard and long locks that the Croatian sports. Asked about the similarity, he laughed: "Maybe that's why I play good, you know."