Henman Finds Grass Court Form

Back to list >

Britain's Tim Henman had to dig deep to rediscover his grass court form, but after dropping the second set against American Robby Ginepri, the No. 3 seed booked his place in the third round with a hard-fought 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-1 victory.

Playing in his first match on the surface since his quarterfinal loss at Wimbledon to Mario Ancic last year, Henman was pleased with his workout.

"I've played this tournament for so many years, and I do absolutely appreciate how, you know, difficult the first match is on the grass. To come through in that type of scenario was great because I played some pretty good tennis in patches over the first two sets, but to really play as well as I did in the third is really pleasing. There are certainly areas that I can do a little bit better in and be more consistent in. But for first match up, I was pleased."

Henman, a three-time runner-up here at The Queen's Club, was hoping to avoid a repeat of his second round loss last year. After going up an early break and leading 4-2 in the first set, it looked as though the 30-year-old from Oxford was comfortably on his way to doing so.

However, Ginepri, whose lone career ATP title came on grass in Newport in 2003, hit back to win the next three games and eventually forced a tie-break. The American also led 5-3 with a mini-break, but Henman won the next four points to take the opener, much to the relief of the packed Centre Court crowd.

The second set was a different story. Henman had his chances for an early break but failed to take advantage, and it was Ginepri who broke to lead 4-3 before serving out the set to force a decider.

With the fans back on the edge of their seats, Henman soon calmed their nerves, breaking for 2-0 in the final set before storming out to a 5-0 lead. Ginepri prevented the bagel, but it only delayed the inevitable as Henman sealed his place in the third round in 1 hour, 15 minutes.

After the match, Henman admitted it was great to be back at the place he's done so well at in the past. "I think with the weather today, pretty much a full crowd, it's pretty tough to beat. I do really enjoy this tournament. I'd like to try and win the tournament."

He will now meet either Australia's Chris Guccione or Russian Igor Andreev for a place in the quarterfinals.

Back to list >