Pat Rafter yesterday enjoyed a smooth passage through to his second successive Wimbledon semi-final meeting with Andre Agassi. He made the championship's surprise package, Alexander Popp, seem every one of the 111 ranking points he is beneath him with a straight sets win 6-3, 6-2, 7-6.

It is an amazing comeback for Rafter, who had struggled to recapture the form that made him number one for a brief period last year.

And top of the list of people surprised by his progress was Rafter himself.

"If before the tournament someone had said to me I could make the fourth round, I'd have taken it and said `I'm outta here','' he revealed afterwards.

"It's a little bit unexpected for me and everybody else in the locker room because I'd shown no sign of coming back so well.'' He may not be entirely accurate there. One or two of the more observant would have noticed his third successive title success on the grass of Rosmalen in Holland 11 days ago.

He has carried that form straight onto the lawns of the All England Club, dropping just one set -- that in a tie-breaker -- on his way to the last four.

The only time there was the slightest doubt that Rafter would progress further came when Popp broke his serve to love in the 10th game of the third set -- just when Rafter was expecting to close out the match. Instead he found himself at 5-5 and then 6-5 down. It was the slightest of hiccoughs. Rafter reasserted his authority on his next service game before romping through the tie-break 7-1.

Rafter, as he has throughout this event, got off to a rapid start and in no time was 3-0 ahead of the 6ft 7in Popp, the German adopted by British tabloid newspaper The Sun after revealing his mother was born in Wolverhampton in the English Midlands.

The Bermuda resident took the first set in just 31 minutes and broke Popp again before he had a chance to settle in the second. With another break in the fifth game, it took him just 27 minutes to complete the second set.

And with a break in the seventh game of the third, it seemed as if it was game over. But maybe a slight sense of complacency crept in as Popp hinted at a recovery with the break back.

In general, though, Rafter was the master of consistency again, serving and volleying with the greatest accuracy but Popp, for the first time in the championships seeming overawed, contributed mightily to his own downfall with an unforced error count of 60 to the Australian's 24.

Rafter cannot expect such profligacy from Agassi, who beat him in straight sets at the same stage last year, on Friday.

"I don't think today was a very pretty match to watch,'' said Rafter. "Alex struggled with everything and I could feel he was uptight and nervous in what was the biggest match of his career.

"I knew if I could get the ball back he was going to make the errors. It wasn't necessarily very aggressive but against Andre I'm going to have to step it up. He doesn't have any weaknesses.'' Of course there are those seeking to demean Rafter's achievement -- reaching a grand slam semi-final nine months after his career-threatening injury was diagnosed -- pointing out that he has not so far been tested.

Rafter accepts the view without rancour.

"I've slipped through the draw quietly, which is a nice way to do it,'' he said. "People are not expecting too much of you.

"But I'll have to be on top of my game and hope that Andre has one of his bad days. I remember last year he served really great. I really couldn't get into his serve at all. He mixes it up well and is tough to pick.'' Pat Rafter: ready for Agassi showdown in last four.