Britain's best hope

Henman takes easy route to third round

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- Tim Henman may have disappointed his country again in July, but he is looking ahead at the U.S. Open.

Britain's best hope to capture a Grand Slam event, Henman took advantage of another easy opponent Friday in dispatching Dick Norman of Belgium, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.

Henman has beaten qualifiers in both of his matches here, dropping only three games in an easy first-round win over Finland's Tuomas Ketola. His latest opponent, Norman, was making his U.S. Open debut.

Once again, the British press is putting pressure on Henman to finally produce a victory for the Union Jack. Henman, who never has made it past the fourth round of a Grand Slam outside his home country, lost in the semifinals at Wimbledon for the fourth time in five years.

Henman is a bit of an unknown quantity at Flushing Meadows following his withdrawal from Indianapolis two weeks ago with inflammation in his right shoulder. It was the first time in 534 career matches he was forced to give his opponent a walkover.

"It's sort of more fatigued, I think, Henman said of his shoulder. "As the match progresses, it just sort of feels like it stiffens up and gets pretty tight in and around my shoulder."

Henman has made it to the fourth round here just twice in seven tries and is in line for a possible fourth-round matchup with American Andy Roddick. Henman is aware his results in New York have been disappointing.

"I don't think it's good enough really for someone of my ability, and certainly that the way my game is suited to this type of surface," Henman said. "You know, I'm trying to improve that this year."

Despite Henman's sub-par results in Grand Slams, the British remain optimistic about the player with whom the public has developed a love-hate relationship. At the same time, the public is just as concerned with his health for England's Davis Cup qualifier with Thailand next month in Birmingham.

Henman next faces 26th seed Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina, a match that certainly will be played at a higher level than his previous two. A loss to Chela would prove disastrous, however.

"It's definitely going to be a step up," Henman said. "He's a quality opponent and he's played well on hard courts this year. If I play well and everything holds up, I think I've got a chance."

 

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