Champion Henman knocked out by Nalbandian

Top seed and defending champion Tim Henman blamed fatigue and off-court distractions for his upset on Friday when he was beaten 3-6 7-6 6-2 by sixth seed Argentine David Nalbandian at the Swiss Indoors tournament.

Henman became a father for the first time last Saturday when his wife Lucy gave birth to their daughter Rose and he admitted that lack of practice, and less sleep than usual in the last week, had finally caught up with him.

Briton Henman, who was hoping for a good tournament in defence of his Basel title to boost his challenge for an automatic qualifying place for the end of season showpiece Masters Cup in Shanghai, said his concentration was upset as he slid to defeat.

"I know I shouldn't let off-court things happening in the crowd affect you, but you can't help it sometimes," he said.

"We call it 'rabbit ears. You just start hearing things. But I know that I've just got to get on with it. Tonight it was just frustrating.

"I felt tired in the third set and he made me do a lot of work. I have to take a look at myself. In the first two sets, especially the second set, there were times when I needed to be more aggressive."

Henman had a chance to break for a 5-4 lead in the second set, but was unable to take it and from that time on appeared unable to prevent the muscular Argentine from controlling and winning the match.

RISK TAKEN

"He took a risk on the point and produced a great shot up the line and from then on I was getting frustrated, more and more, " said Henman, who was given an official warning by the umpire in the third set for ball abuse.

"I think there was a lack of rhythm from both of us tonight," said Henman. "And that made it more and more frustrating."

Henman said his right shoulder, in which he has been suffering from chronic tendinitis, was sore following the match and he had iced it.

"I will ice it again before I go to sleep and catch an early flight home tomorrow," he said. "It has been good to come here and I am sorry to be leaving early, but now I need to focus on Paris next week."

Wimbledon finalist Nalbandian, 20, said: "I played really good tennis tonight and I felt good. But I think I started nervously and then I got going and then I played much better.

"I know I made some very good shots and I think in the second set after I broke, his mind was not so good. He seemed tired to me and that was the key then to the rest of the match."

HOME FAVOURITE

Nalbandian meets home favourite and third seed Roger Federer of Switzerland in the last four, the Swiss having beaten American rising star Andy Roddick 7-6 6-1 in the last quarter-final late on Friday.

Federer, 21, said: "I made very few mistakes and I felt good this evening, On my serve, I felt strong and good and in the second set I could see he had trouble running easily so I pushed hard to win with some very strong points."

Fiery Felix Mantilla was fined $1,000 for throwing his towel at the umpire's chair after losing 2-6 6-3 7-6 to fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Mantilla's outburst came on the first match point at 6-5 in the tiebreak at the St Jakobshalle venue when Ferrero guided an angled backhand volley across court. It appeared to land out but there was no call.

American umpire Steve Ullrich also remained silent and, after both players had stood waiting for a ruling, Mantilla collected his towel and hurled it upwards towards the umpire's chair.

"I saw the ball on television afterwards and it was close to out," said Ferrero, 22, who is hoping to reach his first indoors final on Sunday. "But it was definitely in... I can understand how he felt."

Ferrero, the second seed, will next meet seventh seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile who beat Frenchman Arnaud Clement 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 7-5.

Mantilla, ranked 59th in the world, said of his towel throwing: "It was a mistake, but I can learn from it. I will not do it again.

Ferrero, fourth in the Champions Race for an automatic qualifying place in the end-of-season showpiece Masters Cup in Shanghai and fourth in the world rankings, added: "It is always very difficult for me to play him.

"We know each other well. We have played five times and it is always three sets and today it was no different."

In an evenly-balanced match between Gonzalez and Clement lasting two hours and 15 minutes, the 22-year-old Chilean emerged victorious thanks to his strong forehand and some erratic moments from his 24-year-old opponent.

The win was a third in four meetings for Gonzalez. The French player's only victory came on home soil in Lyon earlier this year.