TENNIS: There are frequent occasions when Tim Henman simply puts too much pressure on himself and it may be that the shoulder injury he is carrying, but which appears to be getting no worse, has enabled him to relax a little more and perhaps focus on the basics.
Certainly it appeared that way yesterday when he reached the third round of the US Open with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory over the towering Belgian qualifier Dick Norman.
In truth Norman, a 6ft 8in left-hander serves reasonably fiercely and has a huge reach, but he did not present many problems. Like most big men he lacks flexibility, and Henman was quick to exploit the Belgian's limited movement. There were times when Norman simply could not get his racket to the ball, so quick were Henman's reactions coupled with the subtlety of the angles he produced.
Norman, who in 1998 gave up tennis for almost two years, after he became frustrated by his inability to climb into the top 10, has been playing at a much lower level in his efforts to claw his way back. Before this week he had not played in a grand slam since the French Open five years ago. Currently ranked No 134, he certainly presented Henman with more power than his first-round opponent, Tuomas Ketola of Finland, but nothing the Briton could not deal with relatively easily.
Henman is still getting heat treatment on his right shoulder and initially he was, understandably, a touch tentative. There was drizzle in the air and no sooner had the players knocked up then they had to leave the grandstand court. On their return he struggled on his opening service game, needing three deuces before he edged ahead.
Over the next four games there were two suspensions as the drizzle temporarily increased and the lines became slippery.
On the second resumption Henman began to dominate, breaking Norman in the eighth game and closing out the first set in 37 minutes of play. He always had the greater variety in the rallies, and used his lob to good effect. This was a level Norman is not used to, and he was frequently left flailing at the net as he vainly attempted to force the pace.
Henman quickly took control of the second set, only to play his first really poor service game and lose the advantage. However it always seemed more likely that Norman would have the greater difficulty holding serve, and in the ninth game Henman pounced again.
Henman did manage to squander a break in the third set before righting the ship. He now plays the Argentinian Juan Ignacio Chela, who lost to the British number one on clay this year in Monte Carlo.
Currently any loss against the name of Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov cannot be regarded as a surprise and his 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 defeat by Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia may see him slip out of the world's top 10.
But this year the 28-year-old Russian, who loves golf and the roulette wheel as much as his tennis, has his eye on leading his country to victory in the Davis Cup final, and had indicated that if that happens he may retire. "Not might, I will," he said after his second-round defeat.
Guardian Service.
MEN
Singles Second round: (25) James Blake (USA) bt Nikolay Davydenko (Rus) 6-3 4-6 6-1 6-3, (6) Andre Agassi (USA) bt Justin Gimelstob (USA) 6-0 6-1 6-1, (1) Lleyton Hewitt (Aus) bt Noam Okun (Isr) 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 6-1, (20) Younes El Aynaoui (Mor) bt Hicham Arazi (Mor) 6-3 6-4 2-0 ret, Fernando Vicente (Spa) bt Mardy Fish (USA) 7-5 7-6 (7-4) 6-1, (14) Jiri Novak (Cze) bt John Van Lottum (Ned) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 6-1, (22) Marcelo Rios (Chi) bt Robin Soderling (Swe) 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-3, Dominik Hrbaty (Svk) bt (4) Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Rus) 6-3 6-1 6-1, (31) Tommy Robredo (Spa) bt Fernando Meligeni (Bra) 4-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-2, Wayne Ferreira (Rsa) bt (8) Albert Costa (Spa) 1-6 6-7 (10-12) 6-4 7-5 6-4, (32) Max Mirnyi (Blr) bt Anthony Dupuis (Fra) 6-4 6-3 3-6 6-2, Jan-Michael Gambill (USA) bt (9) Carlos Moya (Spa) 6-3 6-3 6-1, (21) Gaston Gaudio (Arg) bt Feliciano Lopez (Spa) 6-2 3-6 6-4 6-3, (13) Roger Federer (Swi) bt Michael Chang (USA) 6-3 6-1 6-3
WOMEN
Singles Second round: (3) Jennifer Capriati (USA) bt Tina Pisnik (Slo) 6-4 6-2, (4) Lindsay Davenport (USA) bt Petra Mandula (Hun) 6-4 6-2, (22) Tatiana Panova (Rus) bt Fabiola Zuluaga (Col) 5-7 7-5 6-4, Amy Frazier (USA) bt (18) Ai Sugiyama (Jpn) 6-4 6-2, (23) Patty Schnyder (Swi) bt Martina Sucha (Svk) 6-3 6-3, (30) Meghann Shaughnessy (USA) bt Conchita Martinez (Spa) 6-3 6-2, (10) Amelie Mauresmo (Fra) bt Cristina Torrens-Valero (Spa) 7-6 (7-3) 6-2, Marion Bartoli (Fra) bt Rossana Neffa-De Los Rios (Par) 3-6 6-2 6-2, Amanda Coetzer (Rsa) bt (17) Anna Smashnova (Isr) 6-2 6-4, Magdalena Maleeva (Bul) bt Emilie Loit (Fra) 4-6 6-3 7-5, (21) Lisa Raymond (USA) bt Myriam Casanova (Swi) 6-4 6-2, Yoon-Jeong Cho (Kor) bt (32) Paola Suarez (Arg) 6-4 6-4, (2) Venus Williams (USA) bt Alicia Molik (Aus) 6-1 6-2, (9) Martina Hingis (Swi) bt Antonella Serra-Zanetti (Ita) 6-4 6-1, Vera Zvonareva (Rus) bt Henrieta Nagyova (Svk) 6-1 6-0, (7) Kim Clijsters (Bel) bt Mashona Washington (USA) 6-1 7-6 (7-1), (6) Monica Seles (USA) bt Barbara Schwartz (Aut) 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2, Martina Muller (Ger) bt (29) Barbara Schett (Aut) 5-7 6-2 7-5, (14) Chanda Rubin (USA) bt Anca Barna (Ger) 6-4 6-1.
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