Henman exerts peer pressure

Anything Greg can do, Tim can do - well, if not better, then certainly as well. Yesterday Henman joined Rusedski in the last 32 of the men's singles here at Flushing Meadow with a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 over Spain's Felix Mantilla. This victory was hard won, because Mantilla, ranked five places lower than Henman at number 18 in the world, is an obdurate opponent. His strength, of course, is on clay where British fans saw him defeat his fellow Spaniard Carlos Moya in the final of the Samsung Open in Bournemouth last September.

But the 23-year-old Spaniard, who is just a few weeks younger than Henman, is extremely capable of adjusting his game to hard courts, and it seemed certain that Henman would have to impose himself quickly and firmly on the scurrying righthander from Barcelona: Felix the Catalan.

This Henman duly managed. Henman's talent has never been in doubt, but he is apt to lose concentration, and the US Open is the most difficult tournament in the world to keep your mind on the job in hand. They call it the Zoo, but most zoo animals have a much quieter time.

Henman has been striving for consistency since he reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon this year and lost to Pete Sampras. This, by and large, he feels he has achieved, and when he broke Mantilla in the Spaniard's second service game there were indications that he might win again in straight sets, as he did in the first round against Australia's Scott Draper.

There was a comforting and encouraging security about Henman's early play, both on his serve and his ground strokes, together with those occasional flashes of glittering brilliance which make him such an entertaining player to watch when he is on fire.

He had broken Mantilla with the help of an exquisite lob and one of many rocksolid volleys. The Spaniard never remotely looked like finding a way into the game.

Mantilla is not a player to throw in the towel, and the second set saw the Spaniard the epitome of resolve and concentration until a decidedly bad call threatened to unhinge all his good work. Mantilla, with every justification, threw his arms wide, and complained to the umpire, but there was no chance of an overrule.

To his great credit Mantilla pulled himself together and received a huge cheer from a large crowd on number three court, first when he held his serve for a 6-5 second-set lead, and again - even bigger - when he suddenly and unexpectedly broke Henman's serve to take the second set.

The roller-coaster was about to be cranked up several gears, with both players dropping their serves - Henman twice in the third set; Mantilla, crucially three times.

The final break which gave Henman this set was brilliant tennis by the British number two, who celebrates his 24th birthday tomorrow. A lob, a cross-court dink, and a forehand stop volley were shots of the highest quality.

"I think some of my return games are still a bit erratic but I am pleased with my serving," Henman said afterwards. Two years ago he reached the fourth round here, his best performance to date at the US Open, before losing to Sweden's Stefan Edberg. "This time I hope I can go just as far, if not further," said Henman.

Rusedski next plays the Dutchman Jan Siemerink today. Siemerink holds a 4-3 career advantage over the British number one and it will surely be another extremely tough match for Rusedski who has scrambled his way through two five-setters to reach the third round.

Siemerink, ranked 21, reached the quarter-finals of this year's Wimbledon, losing to Croatia's Goran Ivanisevic, an out and out serve-volleyer.

"I think all the energy Greg has expended so far might be a problem if he gets further in the tournament, but I don't expect him to be tired against me," said Siemerink. "I know I shall have to serve really well because I know that on some of Greg's service games I shall have no chance whatsoever to get the ball back."

The 28-year-old Dutchman has never reached the fourth round here, and does not have a particularly powerful game, but he has lovely touch and won their last encounter in Stockholm last year.

"We've always had pretty tight games and I guess this will be another," said Rusedski.