Henman and Rusedski on course for fantasy final

The sight of Malcolm Gracie, the president of the Lawn Tennis Association, outgoing in every sense, picking up his trombone and belting out "When The Saints Go Marching In" at the Wimbledon Ball on Saturday night makes you wonder if Tim 'n' Greg will be jamming in the men's singles final after all.

Even John McEnroe says an all-British duel next Sunday is a distinct possibility, although the ubiquitous former champion is bereft of Americans to chew over since none of his compatriots have made it to the last 16 of the men's event for the first time in 80 years.

Should Henman, the fourth seed, and Rusedski, seeded No 23, live out the fantasy final, it would be the first between British competitors since 1909, when Arthur Gore, an Old Harrovian, defeated Major Ritchie in five sets (Major was his Christian name, Ritchie never served in the army).

That final was played at Worple Road, the All England Club's original grounds. The Championships moved to Church Road in 1922, since when Fred Perry last lifted the trophy for the nation in 1936 and Bunny Austin was a finalist in 1938.

Henman, not one to get carried away – it will be shoulder high if he plays his cards right – was more succinct in summarising the situation than when playing a number of points against Wayne Ferreira, of South Africa, on Saturday. "If Greg wins three more matches and I win three more matches, it will happen," the 27-year-old from Oxfordshire said. "If one of us loses, it won't happen."

Given the quality of their respective performances so far, there is a growing sense that Rusedski may have the greater chance of glory. "I feel confident," the British No 2 said yesterday, adding, in retrospect, that prior to his last Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open, where he lost to Henman in the third round, he may have played too many matches. "Now I am fresh."

Henman, one of only two of the top 16 seeds left in the tournament, the other being Lleyton Hewitt, the world No 1, whom he is projected to play in the semi-finals, said he regarded his British rival's continued presence in the lower half of the draw as "a boost".

He added that he had seen enough of Rusedski's demolition of America's Andy Roddick to have been impressed – "I think he played faultlessly" – and believes he and Rusedski are "feeding off each other, which is good for both of us."

Henman's advance to the second week, at the expense of two qualifiers, Jean-François Bachelot and Scott Draper, and the disgruntled Ferreira, tested the nerves of his supporters. With Ferreira attracting half the South Africans in London to Centre Court on "People's Saturday", the contest, won by Henman or lost by Ferreira, 7-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-1, depending on your point of view, had the atmosphere and edge of a Davis Cup tie.

Ferreira recovered from 1-4 in the opening set and led 3-0 and 6-4 in the tie-break before Henman converted his fifth set point to win the shoot-out, 8-6. Ferreira won the second set with the only break, for 5-3, and was denied a 5-1 lead in the third set tie-break by the umpire's overrule.

Jorge Dias, of Portugal, contradicted both a baseline judge and a sideline judge in ruling out Ferreira's deep forehand to a far corner of the court. Henman, having watched the ball land, turned towards the umpire's chair, pointing a finger, as Dias was in the process of making the overrule.

Television replays showed the ball hit the line. Told this after the match, an angry Ferreira accused Henman of intimidating the umpire – "I don't blame Tim, I would have done the same," he added – and said the umpire owed him an apology for making a mistake.

Dias, who umpired the men's final here last year, upset Roddick at the United States Open last September by overruling a call in his quarter-final against Hewitt. Umpires are advised to overrule, particularly on far lines, only when a line judge has clearly made an error. The ball was too close to the line for Dias to call on Saturday.

Anyway, Henman hit an approach shot wide on the next point, and Ferreira was unable to capitalise on a 5-2 lead, Henman going on to win the shoot-out, and effectively the match, 10-8, on his seventh set point.

In the fourth round today, Rusedski returns to Centre Court against Xavier Malisse, of Belgium, while Henman goes to Court One to play Michel Kratochvil, of Switzerland.

The 21-year-old Malisse, whose talent is built on an impressive range of shots, defeated Yevgeny Kafelnikov, of Russia, the fifth seed, in straight sets. Malisse, the 27th seed, beat Rusedski in straight sets on a medium-pace indoor court in Paris last October, having lost to him earlier on a concrete court in San Jose.

Malisse undoubtedly has the ability to end Rusedski's run, but the match is likely to be decided by Rusedski's serving power and willpower. Against Roddick, he was the master on both counts. With his serve booming, he was able to volley with crispness and accuracy: the embodiment of a monster on grass.

Kratochvil, a personable 23-year-old from Berne, speaks proudly of his parents, of how they fled Prague in 1968 to make a new life, which now includes running their own tennis centre. Since switching to tennis from ice hockey, Kratochvil has made good progress, though Henman ought to have his measure. But, with Hewitt and his blistering service returns moving ever closer, many observers are wondering if Henman has taken too much pace off his serve in favour of placement.

"My service is a good talking point," Henman says. "What I like about it is the consistency of both my first and second serves. My second serve used to be a liability. Now it is an aggressive shot. I'm going more to the corners, more to the body, and making less mistakes."

With a glint of defiance, he added: "If I could win matches serving underarm, I'd serve underarm." Just like his grandmother.