British players-henman,murray,rusedski etc

[Annie]

Tim Henman defeated Andy Murray in Bangkok today....

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[sabz]

i second that.... YAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D
and a well deserved win it is too! CONGRATS!!!

Timmy next plays fellow Brit Alex Bogdanovic. GOOD LUCK!!! ;D


Henman breaks duck against Murray

Tim Henman claimed his first victory over Andy Murray after a deserved 6-4 6-2 win over the Scot in the first round of the Thailand Open in Bangkok.
Henman, who had lost the three previous encounters with Murray, had a storming start and took a 5-2 opening set lead.

But the fourth seed fought back to 5-4 only for Henman to take the set after winning a lengthy 10th game.

Two early breaks in the second set helped Henman seal victory and he now faces fellow Briton Alex Bogdanovic.

Henman, who lost to Murray in Toronto and Cincinnati earlier this year and in Switzerland in 2005, was determined to stop the rot and produced an aggressive and determined display.

"There is always a lot of focus on this game," Henman told BBC Five Live. "Overall I played some really good tennis, and I needed to with him having played as well as he has done recently.

"I played better on crucial points this time, while the last time he beat me because he played better on those points. My serves were the key."

"It's certainly a good win and I am really keen to build on that now."

The former British number one, now ranked 59 in the world, used his chip and charge game to great effect and the pressure led to Murray making a series of unforced errors.

Murray had put Henman's serve under pressure in the opening set with some deft returns but could not get close enough for a crucial break.

And Henman had already broken twice before the decisive 10th game in the first set which saw the 31-year-old save five break points before taking the set with a drop shot.

It took time for Murray to recover from the shock and he promptly lost the opening four games of the second as Henman continued to dominate.

Murray, who seemed to feel the effects of helping Britain to a 3-2 Davis Cup win over Ukraine in Odessa last weekend, did get on the board by holding serve twice but Henman had little trouble in serving out the match.

"It was really hard to get ready to play here, I wasn't tired, but it is such a change from Davis Cup play," said Murray.

"Playing Tim is always big, I knew it would not be easy at all. I just couldn't play my best after 18 hours of travel."

The 19-year-old, who lost to Roger Federer in the final of this event last season, will now dust himself down to take part in the doubles with his brother Jamie later on Wednesday.

They play Frank Dancevic of Canada and America's Robby Ginepri.

[indiangal]

yeah well...sore looser.....
i mean marat was cumin from russia n a davis cup win...
he played decent < huh./..okie tuk three sets..> , didnt complain bout jet lag...

neways me so happy tim won.....

p.s - tim donates a few pounds to charity for every ace he hits..he sure deserves to win..!!!

[Marie]

I can't believe Tim lost to Paradorn! He was serving for the match in the third set. Just one game away, and I was all, "Okay, Tim, finish the match before I head off the class," but he got broken and ended up losing in the tiebreak. Great fight back by Paradorn, though...I'm sure the fans are thrilled.

[iman]

Federer outguns Henman in Tokyo

Federer took his win-loss record over Henman to 7-6
Roger Federer's stranglehold over Tim Henman continued as he strolled to a 6-3 6-3 victory to capture the Japan Open title in Tokyo.
The Swiss world number one racked up a sixth straight win over Britain's number two in 67 minutes to clinch a ninth title in 2006.

"I beat Tim at Wimbledon and the US Open this year but I thought this might be the most dangerous," said Federer.

"To keep winning is a very difficult thing to do. It's fantastic."

Henman gifted Federer his first break with three straight double faults in the sixth game and the top seed closed out the first set with his fifth ace.

"Those three double faults definitely gave me the first set. It gave me a cushion and put the pressure on Tim," said the 25-year-old Federer.

"I guess if you look at it very harshly that cost him the match. If he wants to win that's just a thing he can't do."

Tim Henman says 'Competing against arguably the greatest player of all time is the ultimate test and so it's one that I still enjoy'

Playing for the first time in Japan, and his first event since winning last month's US Open, Federer broke to go 2-1 up in the second set and never let Henman back in as he stormed to his 42nd career title.

"I'm not the first guy to lose to Roger and I won't be the last," said the 32-year-old Henman.

"Roger was too strong for me today and he's a phenomenal player - there's very few that can live with him on any surface other than clay at the moment.

"It's difficult to hurt him as he's got so many strengths and so few weaknesses and, the scary thing is, he's still improving.

"So it's tough to compete with him, especially in the latter stages of tournaments when he's had a chance to build up his confidence, but that's what we've all got to try to do.

"It's a formidable challenge - but competing against arguably the greatest player of all time is the ultimate test and so it's one that I still enjoy.

"It's definitely been a fantastic week for me with the level I've played. It's great motivation and to be back in a big final is fantastic.

"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go the whole way but there are plenty of positives for me to take from the trip as I feel I've showed on the match court what I've been feeling in practice for a while now."

Federer, who has now won seven of his 13 matches against Henman, improved his record in finals to 42 wins in 55 appearances.

Henman was playing in his first final since losing to Federer at Indian Wells in 2004. The former British number one won the last of his 11 career titles at the Paris Masters in 2003.

[iman]

poor henners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! at least he stuck it out!

[Marie]

Yay to Tim for beating Verdasco today and saving all five break points against him! I believe he'll face Ferrer next.

[MaratRocks]

Nice one Tim ;D

[Annie]

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Well done Tim!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sabz]

Nice to see Tim winning matches again!!
CONGRATS!! ;D ;D ;D

[iman]

well done tim

[Marie]

Yay again to Tim for beating David Ferrer in three sets!

Henman on a roll in Madrid

Tim Henman insists he can play on until he reaches 36 or 37 after upsetting another younger opponent at the Madrid Masters.

The British number two is currently 32 and his resurgence gathered pace as he reached the last 16 in Madrid, beating 14th seed David Ferrer 6-1 4-6 6-1.

From a mid-summer low of 76th in the world, Henman can now firmly train his sights on finishing the year inside the top 32 after beating the 24-year-old Spaniard.

He reached the Japan Open final earlier this month and is currently 41st. Today's win meant he had eliminated a second Spaniard in the country's capital, less than 24 hours after knocking out Madrid's own Fernando Verdasco, a 22-year-old.

Henman was asked whether he could now be expected to play on for another two of three years.

"I think four or five probably," he replied.

"I don't know. I hope so. It's something that I try not to think about a great deal. I just want to be enjoying my tennis and obviously playing this type of level.

"And then if I am playing this type of level, then I can see myself playing for a longer time.

"There are other times where I've struggled and my body has not felt good, and it's very hard to maintain your motivation and your commitment for the game. But that's just a challenge for me at my age and this stage of my career."

Henman urged his beaten opponent David Ferrer to forget about the match, particularly the first and third sets when the Spaniard's form deserted him.

Ferrer was distraught by his performance, saying: "It hasn't been a pity. It's been a whole disaster.

"This has been one of the worst days of my career."

Taken aback by such a severe reaction, Henman said: "Blimey. I think a bit of perspective might be in order for him."

Henman served and volleyed well for much of the match. In the second set he struggled particularly on serve, with a flurry of double faults allowing Ferrer some welcome free points.

But the former Wimbledon, French and US Open semi-finalist said: "Even when I lost the second set, I knew I still played some good tennis.

"And whenever I was getting a chance to come forward and put pressure on him, I knew it was something that he didn't like. Yeah, it was fantastic. I couldn't be happier."

Source: www.sportinglife.com/tennis/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=tennis/06/10/17/TENNIS_Spa-Madrid.html

[Annie]

Watched the match and was happy to see him win ;D ;D ;D

[sabz]

OOOOOOOOO TIMMY!!! ;D ;D ;D
SOO happy to see him winnig again - FAB stuff!!!
KEEP IT UP TIM!!! GOOD LUCK!!!

[SAFINNO1]

Henman no gentleman - Nalbandian (Nalbandian on my official hatelist)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Tim Henman has been accused of bad sportsmanship and described as "the worst rubbish there is" by Argentine David Nalbandian.
Nalbandian beat Henman 6-2 2-6 7-5 at the Madrid Masters on Thursday, and at one point the pair exchanged angry words over a disputed line call.

Speaking after the match, Henman said: "I think he's in a dream world."

Nalbandian responded: "All this selling himself as a gentleman is not true. He is the worst rubbish there is."

When serving in the final set, Nalbandian had a first serve called out but thought he should have had another two serves.

Henman was asked for his opinion and said it was probably in.

The Briton later explained: "He said 'well, you didn't give me first serve'. First serve at 5-5, 15-30 when I think your serve was in? I think he's in a dream world.

"Then he started questioning my sportsmanship, but if we go down that road there is only going to be one winner."

On a bad evening for Britain, Andy Murray admitted that his stunningly successful year is starting to take its toll after defeat to Novak Djokovic at the Madrid Masters.

The 19-year-old led by a set and a break before losing 1-6 7-5 6-3.

"A combination of mental fatigue and my serve not holding out were the reasons for my defeat," said Murray.

"Mentally, I'm struggling. Maybe after playing around 26 tournaments I'm not used to playing all the time at such a high level."

Murray added that a meeting with Real Madrid star David Beckham had proved inspirational.

"It was nice to see him as he is one of the biggest sporting icons ever and is so polite and humble," said the Scot.

"It's good to see the way he has handled all the attention and criticism when I'm not likely to get even a tenth of that in my career."