Marion Bartoli

France’s Marion Bartoli caused one of the greatest upsets in Wimbledon history by beating top seed Justine Henin in the semi-finals.

Bartoli recovered from a set and a break down to stun Henin on Centre Court, ending the world number one’s bid for a career Grand Slam.

A routine win looked on the cards when Henin raced through the first set in 22 minutes for the loss of just one game but Bartoli staged an amazing fightback to record a 1-6 7-5 6-1 victory and now faces three-time champion Venus Williams in the final.

Henin had quickly taken command of the match, breaking Bartoli to love in the second game and a second break of serve was created with the aid of a trademark backhand winner and Henin served out to take the set 6-1 in just 22 minutes.

The world number one broke serve again in the opening game of the second set but to Bartoli’s credit she broke straight back, creating a third break point with the rally of the match as the players traded reaction volleys from close quarters at the net.

Henin dropped her serve again in the fourth game to fall 3-1 behind but suddenly raised her game several notches, winning the next three games in a row, breaking Bartoli twice.

But the 22-year-old broke back immediately and once more to love in the 12th game to snatch the set 7-5 and give herself a chance of creating a massive upset.

Bartoli saved two break points at the start of the decider and then fired a brilliant backhand winner down the line to break for a 2-0 lead.

The world number 19 then saved two more break points to make it 3-0 and then, barely believably, won the next two games as well as Henin could find no answer to her probing groundstrokes.

Bartoli then served out to love to complete a quite stunning victory which deservedly drew a standing ovation from the packed crowd.