Henman raises British morale
Thursday, June 21, 2007
TIM HENMAN gave flagging British morale a boost ahead of the start of Wimbledon next week when he won only his second match on the men's tour this year to ease into the second round of the Nottingham Open.
The former British number one, four times a semi-finalist at Wimbledon, beat American Michael Russell 6-1, 7-6 (7/5).
The 32-year-old was far from his best as he capitalised on a string of errors from his opponent but voiced satisfaction at having been able to get over the first hurdle in a tournament he only entered after a first round exit at Queen's last week.
"The second set was much harder than the first I came through some really good games and the tiebreak typified that," Henman said.
"It is never going to be plain sailing. Those are the great games to come through. I did not play my best, but when I needed to I was able to come out with some good shots and that was important to me."
Henman was not however prepared to look further ahead than his second round meeting with second seed Dmitry Tursunov, who swept past American Robert Kendrick, 6-1, 6-4.
"On grass, I still believe I've got a good chance against most people but have had a few struggles lately so I will be taking it just one match at a time and stay positive."
Another Briton, Alex Bogdanovic, went out to Mexican Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 7-6 (13/11) in a match that had been carried over from Monday.
British number one Andy Murray is meanwhile struggling to be fit for Wimbledon as a result of a wrist injury he suffered in Hamburg last month, which forced him to miss the French Open.
The 20-year-old had been scheduled to return to action on Wednesday at an exhibition tournament but that was put back for 24 hours at least.
The day's only upset was provided by Russian Igor Kunitsyn, who beat third seed Agustin Calleri of Argentina 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-4. AFP
The former British number one, four times a semi-finalist at Wimbledon, beat American Michael Russell 6-1, 7-6 (7/5).
The 32-year-old was far from his best as he capitalised on a string of errors from his opponent but voiced satisfaction at having been able to get over the first hurdle in a tournament he only entered after a first round exit at Queen's last week.
"The second set was much harder than the first I came through some really good games and the tiebreak typified that," Henman said.
"It is never going to be plain sailing. Those are the great games to come through. I did not play my best, but when I needed to I was able to come out with some good shots and that was important to me."
Henman was not however prepared to look further ahead than his second round meeting with second seed Dmitry Tursunov, who swept past American Robert Kendrick, 6-1, 6-4.
"On grass, I still believe I've got a good chance against most people but have had a few struggles lately so I will be taking it just one match at a time and stay positive."
Another Briton, Alex Bogdanovic, went out to Mexican Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 7-6 (13/11) in a match that had been carried over from Monday.
British number one Andy Murray is meanwhile struggling to be fit for Wimbledon as a result of a wrist injury he suffered in Hamburg last month, which forced him to miss the French Open.
The 20-year-old had been scheduled to return to action on Wednesday at an exhibition tournament but that was put back for 24 hours at least.
The day's only upset was provided by Russian Igor Kunitsyn, who beat third seed Agustin Calleri of Argentina 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-4. AFP
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