The Associated Press

PARIS - Tim Henman advanced Tuesday to the French Open semifinals, which might be why he walked off center court scratching his head.

It's mystifying, all right, how a grass-court specialist from Britain has reached the final four of the world's most prestigious clay-court tournament.

Even Henman is surprised.

"Perhaps it's going to be three Argentineans and a Brit" in the semifinals, he said. "You could have gotten pretty long odds on that at the beginning of the fortnight."

The Oxford lad became the first Englishman in 41 years to reach the semis at Roland Garros by beating Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.

In an upset-filled tournament, including Tuesday's elimination of Venus and Serena Williams, Henman's run ranks among the biggest shockers. The 29-year-old serve-and-volleyer is part of a dying breed, and though he's seeded ninth, his style of play lends itself to success on grass, not clay.

At Wimbledon he has been a perennial title threat - and a perennial disappointment to all of England. Henman has lost four times in the Wimbledon semifinals and three times in the quarterfinals.

Until Sunday, he had never advanced beyond the fourth round at any other Grand Slam event.

"If you said I was going to be in the semis of a Slam again and it wasn't Wimbledon, I probably wouldn't have chosen here," he said. "But that adds to the satisfaction."

Henman's draw opened up last week when Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi lost, and he has yet to play anyone ranked in the top 20. But that's about to change. His opponent Friday will be third-seeded Guillermo Coria, who advanced by beating 1998 champion Carlos Moya 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-3.

"I'm going to play my best tennis so I can beat Henman," Coria said.

The Argentine - one of three among the six remaining men - has yet to lose a set in the tournament, and he has won 36 of his past 37 matches on clay.

"There's no doubt he's the player to beat," Henman said.

Charging the net on clay can be trouble, which is why such accomplished serve-and-volleyers as Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg and Patrick Rafter never won the French Open.

But Henman said his tactics have put clay-court specialists such as Chela on the defensive, and they're unaccustomed to being confronted by an opponent who keeps showing up at the net.

Against Chela, Henman faced just one break point. He lost only six points in his final six service games, and he won 49 points at the net to 11 for the Argentine.

"Tim really played perfectly," Chela said. "He didn't allow me to get any rhythm at all."

The last British man to fare so well at Paris was Mike Sangster, who lost in the 1963 semifinals. The only Englishman to win the tournament was Fred Perry in 1935.

Highlights

Men's quarterfinals: Guillermo Coria def. Carlos Moya; Tim Henman def. Juan Ignacio Chela.

Women's quarterfinals: Paola Suarez def. Maria Sharapova; Jennifer Capriati def. Serena Williams; Anastasia Myskina def. Venus Williams; Elena Dementieva def. Amelie Mauresmo.

Stat of the day: 88 - Combined unforced errors by the Williamses.

Men's quarterfinals today: Gaston Gaudio vs. Lleyton Hewitt; Gustavo Kuerten vs. David Nalbandian.

Quote of the day: "Serena was totally awful." - Oracene Price, mother and coach to the sisters.