Men's singles quarter finals
Andre Agassi (2) bt Mark Philippoussis (10) 7-6 6-3 6-4
Andre Agassi mastered the booming serve of Mark Philippoussis to reach the semi-finals for the second successive year. Agassi clinched the first set on a tiebreak, after the games had gone with serve up to that point. The big Australian fired an amazing 22 aces but Agassi varied his game superbly to break Philippoussis’ rhythm. Agassi’s service game was faultless and he pounced on any opportunities to break that Philippoussis presented. Agassi will meet Pat Rafter in the semi-final. He beat the Australian last year before losing out to Pete Sampras in the final.
Pat Rafter (12) bt Alexander Popp 6-3 6-2 7-6 (7-1)
Australian and 12th seed Pat Rafter cruised to a three set win over German Alexander Popp. Rafter took the first set 6-3 after just 30 minutes and raced through to win the next 6-2. Popp looked understandably nervous, playing on Court One for the first time, and in his very first service game he served five double faults. Popp did later settle down, but Rafter's all round game was just too much for him.
Vladimir Voltchkov bt Byron Black 7-6 7-6 6-4
Surprise package Vladimir Voltchkov became the first qualifier to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for 23 years after a hard-fought win over Zimbabwe's Byron Black. Voltchkov won a nervous encounter in front of a sparse court one crowd to repeat the feat of a certain John McEnroe in 1977. The 22-year-old from Belarus is also the lowest ranked semi-finalist at 237. The infinitely more experienced Black should have had the advantage but it was Voltchkov who held his nerve the better, sealing victory with an ace.
Pete Sampras (1) bt Jan-Michael Gambill 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-4
Pete Sampras progressed to the Wimbledon semi finals despite an unconvincing performance against Jan-Michael Gambill on Centre Court. Sampras appeared sluggish at times and needed four sets to edge out his stubborn fellow American. Gambill showed great determination to stay in the contest despite a heavily strapped thigh. Sampras won the first set by virtue of a single break, but Gambill levelled by taking the second in a tie-break. Sampras held his serve in the next two sets, where solitary breaks were again enough to take him through.
