Tennis: Tim Henman was stunned by German qualifier Simon Greul 0-6 6-1 7-5 in the third round of the Nasdaq-100 Open this evening.
Henman looked in command after sweeping the opening set in 18 minutes as the 24-year-old Greul, a first round winner over Paradorn Srichaphan, won just four points.
The momentum shifted in the second set when the 130th-ranked Greul, who missed four months in 2003 with an ankle injury, asserted his game. Playing in his first Masters Series tournament, the German baffled Henman as he levelled at a set apiece, then recovered from a break down in the third to earn the upset.
"I'm shocked," Henman, who had notched up back-to-back wins over former world number ones Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt in the previous rounds. "To play as I did and for him to play that badly . . . I didn't take anything for granted. I wanted to keep the pressure on.
"I missed one forehand (in the third game of second set). I was then playing a different player. After having beaten Safin and Hewitt and then having a match like this. It certainly doesn't sit well with me."
Henman produced 26 unforced errors, three less than Greul, who next plays either Andy Roddick or Fernando Verdasco. Women's 12th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova earned a walkover into the quarter-finals after seventh seed Patty Schnyder withdrew with an ankle problem.
