Tim Henman beat Petr Korda in straight sets to reach the semifinals. (Reuters)

WIMBLEDON, England, July 1 — Like all of England, Tim Henman turned on his television last night and settled in to watch his beloved soccer team battle Argentina in a second-round World Cup match. And, like all of England, Henman woke up this morning nursing a bit of a soccer hangover, his head and his heart heavy over England's dramatic loss in penalty kicks. It did not, however, hurt his tennis one bit.

Now his country's best hope for sporting glory, Henman gave the English a bit of balm this afternoon when he upset third-seeded Petr Korda, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, in front of an thrilled Centre Court crowd to advance to the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time.

His next opponent, though, will be a doozy: No. 1 Pete Sampras, a man who has yet to lose a set in this tournament. After all three American women were bounced from the quarterfinals today, only Sampras was left to carry the U.S. flag, and he did so valiantly, knocking out Australia's Mark Philippoussis, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-4, to move two victories from his fifth Wimbledon title.

Sampras and Henman, who is bidding to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936, now will meet in the centerpiece semifinal Friday on Centre Court, with No. 9 Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands and No. 14 Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia to duel in the other.

Krajicek beat Jason Stoltenberg, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, today to continue his brilliant run through the tournament, and Ivanisevic won three tiebreakers in claiming a 7-6 (12-10), 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (8-6) victory over Jan Siemerink.

As for the soccer, "It was a huge disappointment for everyone — for the players, for everyone watching," Henman said. "I didn't want to continue that trend, and I was keen to win."

Henman got a bit of a break today: Korda was playing on a sore ankle, which he injured during his fourth-round match Monday night. Still, the 23-year-old Oxford native played his best match of the tournament, holding his serve throughout and cranking up his power in anticipation of the challenges yet to come.

The smallest of the final foursome — Sampras, Krajicek and Ivanisevic all are big, booming servers — Henman has upped the strength and speed of his own serve, and has topped 130 mph during this fortnight.

"I do feel that I'm serving as well as perhaps I've ever served in the last couple of matches," Henman said.

Sampras also continued to serve well, and Philippoussis felt the sting. He is a player with all the tools but has a tendency to hit the ball too hard, and go for bigger shots than he should. He played that way again today, making it easy for Sampras to continue his smooth sail through the draw.

"There's not a whole lot to talk about," Sampras said of his match. "I held on to my serve pretty well the whole match. At this level, as hard as we're hitting the ball on a court that quick, it's going to come down to a couple of points, and I got those today."

On the other side of the men's draw, Krajicek appears to be having as easy a time as Sampras, despite playing with a sore right knee. He spent last night plying his knee with ice, anti-inflammatories and a muscle stimulator, then walked onto Court 2 late this morning and played like it did not hurt him a bit.

"I think I wasn't too afraid," said Krajicek, who admitted his knee was stiff when he woke up. "But now with the day off and knowing that there's no problem to move, I think I'm going to be okay for the next match."

And the next match clearly will be his toughest, given the way Ivanisevic is playing. Usually a temperamental player, Ivanisevic is treating this tournament like one giant joyride, thrilling both the crowds and the fans back in his home country of Croatia. Asked today what his countrymen would do if both he and the Croatian soccer team won titles — Croatia has advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Cup — Ivanisevic looked as if his eyes might pop out of his head.

"Jesus . . . I don't know," Ivanisevic said. "I think the whole country will be drunk for the rest of the year, including me and the rest of the team. We celebrate."