Henman goes through as Rusedski drops out

Tim Henman swept away nine months of Grand Slam graft to make a winning start to his French Open challenge whereas Greg Rusedski found the lay-off too much to overcome as he was dumped out by 21-year-old Russian Nikolai Davydenko.

The British number one was in aggressive form as he made his way to a 6-2 6-3 6-1 victory against Vladimir Voltchkov in the first round at Roland Garros.

Henman’s serve, under pressure in recent weeks, was working well and his ground shots were impressive as he showed no sign of the shoulder injury which required surgery late last year and kept him sidelined for four months.

However, his fans should not get carried away because Voltchkov, whose claim to fame is having reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2000, has not won a match on clay since 1998.

His discomfort on the surface was apparent throughout as he struggled to move with any fluidity and sprayed unforced errors, especially on his wild forehand, all around court three.

Henman’s sole concern was a nervous start, in which he lost his first service of the match, but once the Oxfordshire player had found his rhythm the man from Belarus was no match for his superior all-court game.

Henman breezed through the first two sets and then stepped up the pace even more in the third to break Voltchkov’s service three times to race to an impressive triumph in one hour and 40 minutes.

He now plays the winner of the match between America’s Todd Martin and Argentinian Jose Acasuso in the second round.

Meanwhile, British number two Greg Rusedski was comprehensively beaten in straight sets 6-3 7-5 6-2.

A lack of concentration at crucial times eventually cost him, particularly in the first set when he lost his service in the sixth and eighth games and again in the last game of the second set when a lame volley into the net handed the Russian the initiative.

His rhythm began to desert him – and immediately he lost his serve at the start of the third set the outcome was inevitable.

So it was, Davydenko’s more consistent game proving too solid for a man who has always hated the red clay of Roland Garros.