On form Henman dismisses Heuberger

A slow start, but then a good performance from Tim Henman today saw the British number one player overwhelm Ivo Heuberger in straight sets in his second round match.

But the typically uneven start by the top British player had the Centre Court crowd on the edge of their seats in the first set. Henman looked likely to drop the first set as he faced Heuberger's service at 5-4 down. Then Henman, seeded five, found some reserves and the beginning of better form to take the first set 7-5.

Henman's play was sufficiently consistent to seal Heuberger's fate with a service break giving a comfortable second set win 6-3. Two breaks in the third set saw Henman walk the match in straight sets with a 6-2 win as the Swiss player proved unable to raise his game.

In the post match interview Henman attributed his initially inconsistent performance on a decision to try to exploit the "crowd-factor". A strategy that clearly did not work to his advantage in the first set. The small crowd that greeted the players on Wimbledon's hallowed Centre Court today worked to spoil Henman's enthusiasm for this crowd-pleaser strategy - he has showed best form when not being as animated as the crowd would like.

Finally, he was assisted by an opponent who after the loss of the first set, despite battling gamely, eventually lost his enthusiasm - some poor play and a few badly chosen shots in the third set let Henman take the match.

(SP)