Tim Henman fought back from a set down for a dramatic win against Andy Roddick in the Indian Wells Masters Series tournament on Friday. The British number one beat his American opponent 6-7 7-6 6-3 for a place in the semi-finals.
Roddick took the first set after edging the tie-break 8-6 before Henman battled back to win the second in a more convincing 7-1 tie-break.
He then wrapped up the third after breaking Roddick in the eighth game.
Henman was delighted with his win and his performance on court.
 |  In the past I haven't been as aggressive as I could be but better late than never |
"I think it was pretty good-quality tennis," he said afterwards. "It was disappointing to lose a tight first tiebreak but I hung in there and managed to squeeze out a pretty tight second set and played a really good third."
The 29-year-old had his work cut out overcoming hard-serving Roddick but survived a match point before rallying to reach his second Indian Wells semi-final in three years.
He hammered 55 winners and withstood a barrage of aces in the two hour 32 minute match to improve to 3-1 lifetime against Roddick
"My game is in good shape," added Henman. "I know what I have to do now. In the past I haven't been as aggressive as I could be but better late than never."
He now plays unseeded Georgian Irakli Labadze, who reached his first ATP semi-final with a 6-7 6-4 6-1 upset victory over James Blake of the US.
Henman, who was runner-up in 2002, improved his won-loss record this year to 12-4.
The perennial Wimbledon contender reached the semi-finals in Rotterdam last month, beating Federer in the quarter-finals before losing to eventual winner Lleyton Hewitt.
MMIX
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