wimbledon diary - july 3

Wenger watches Henin's match.

Just when Justine Henin's rivals thought things could not get any worse comes news of a meeting which ought to strike horror into their hearts.

Henin, who has taken only three hours and 47 minutes to reach the quarter-finals, has had the chance to add an extra psychological dimension to her game.

Arsenal's master tactician Arsene Wenger, a friend of Henin's long-time coach Carlos Rodriguez, watched from the Royal Box as she swatted Patty Schnyder.

"It's an honour for me that he was there," said Henin afterwards.

"He met Carlos. They wanted to discuss a little bit. I didn't see him yet. I hope I

can see him upstairs now."

The top seed got her wish. Half an hour later, she was ensconced at a table in the players' restaurant and engaging in deep conversation with the Arsenal chief.

"He's such an interesting guy," Henin added. "What he did for his club is pretty amazing."

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Tommy Haas, whose misfortune at Wimbledon knows no bounds, was able to look on the bright side of life after he was forced to withdraw from the second week with an abdominal injury.

"I don't have to pay for another week for my house rental, which is great," he quipped.

The 29-year-old German has been plagued by injury problems throughout his career, missing Wimbledon in 2002 and the whole of 2003 after two surgeries on his right shoulder, while in 2005 he tore ankle ligaments after stepping on a ball in the warm-up.

He was due to meet defending champion Roger Federer in the fourth round but, despite the odds being stacked against him, he told a press conference he was looking forward to maintaining his 100% record on Centre Court.

Pressed on the point, Haas was forced to admit he had made just a solitary appearance on the world's most famous tennis venue.

"It was against (Andre) Agassi in '98 in the second round," he said. "I'm quite proud of that match."

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The early-morning calmness around the All England club was briefly shattered when two sniffer dogs became rather agitated near Court 19.

It was not immediately apparent whether their high jinks were down to the discovery of an illicit substance or the tempting smells wafting down from the press restaurant - but their handlers soon retained control of the situation.