Nalbandian fights through to semis

Argentine David Nalbandian became only the second South American semi-finalist in Wimbledon history when he held off a fightback from Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti for a dramatic 6-4 6-4 4-6 4-6 6-4 victory on Thursday.

The 20-year-old, making his debut this year at the grasscourt grand slam, matched the achievement of Peru's Alex Olmedo, who went on to win the men's title in 1959.

Nalbandian, the 28th seed, will face Belgian Xavier Malisse in the last four on Friday.

The Argentine had the better start in a match that spanned three hours and 43 minutes and produced 19 breaks of serve.

He controlled the match from the baseline with his powerful forehand but he also had luck on his side as Lapentti slipped several times.

Lapentti, as 22nd seed the favourite to win the match, was out-hit in the first two sets as Nalbandian settled into this rhythm.

But despite going down 4-1 in the third, he looked to his small band of Ecuadorean fans to lift him and it paid off as he slowly muscled his way back into the match and finally secured the decisive break in the eighth game.

The fourth and fifth sets were riddled with errors but Lapentti kept the upper hand to take the match to a deciding fifth set, where his luck ran out.

Nalbandian secured the decisive break in the fifth game and secured the match with a dramatic forehand smash before dropping to the floor in delight and not a little relief.