Portugal Colonial - Ainslie 'relieved' as British book place in Louis Vuitton Cup final

The winner of the Luis Vuitton Cup will go forward as the challenger to face two-time defending champions New Zealand in the America's Cup in October.

Leading 4-1 in their semi-final going into Wednesday's races, the British lost the opener against the Swiss Alinghi but hit back to win the second to give them a 5-2 victory in the best-of-nine series.

"We're happy because it was a difficult day," said British skipper Ben Ainslie.

"We're relieved to get through because in this kind of competition, anything can happen."

In the other semi-final, the Americans were facing the exit as they trailed 4-1 at the start of the day against the Italians.

Helmsman Tom Slingsby, however, led his crew to two successive wins in tricky wind conditions to narrow the gap to 4-3.

More maneuverable and faster on the first run, the Americans then took advantage of a breakage on Luna Rossa's AC75, at the level of the rail moving the mainsail, during the second match.

The two boats will meet again for the last pair of races on Thursday to see who will face the British in the final on September 26.

T.Resende--PC