Henman recovers to win Rome opener

Tim Henman admitted he felt more under pressure to perform against German qualifier Florian Mayer in the Italian Masters today than he had against a number of experienced clay court players in the recent event in Monte Carlo.

The British number one recovered from a slow start to win his first-round match against Mayer 7-5 6-1.

But, despite the German’s lack of pedigree, Henman felt the weight of expectation more than he had against the likes of Rainer Schuettler, Nicolas Massu or David Sanchez on his way to the quarter-finals in the French principality.

Henman said: “I have to say that, in Monte Carlo, I felt pretty relaxed in all my matches.

“But coming into a match like this, I’m expecting myself to win so it has a completely different feel to it.

“So it’s good that I recovered after a slow start and, overall, I’m pleased with how I played.”

Henman was broken in the opening game of the match, but he recovered from that setback to claim two service breaks of his own and win a tight first set 7-5.

It was a far easier task for the world number seven in the second set as Henman won two further games on the Mayer service to race home 6-1 and set up a second-round tie with either Goran Ivanisevic or Radek Stepanek.

And Henman revealed that the speedier courts had helped his game, both in Monte Carlo and in the Rome opener against Mayer.

“The courts are pretty quick, and a lot of the pace on the shots is dictated by the balls,” he continued.

“The biggest benefit is that it is possible to win some cheap points on your serve.”

Henman was once regarded as something of a liability on the slower clay courts, but his performance for most of the match against Mayer should provide him with plenty of heart when he takes on either Ivanisevic or Stepanek.

“I got off to a bit of a poor start, but in the second half of the first set and throughout the second set I was happy with my game.

“I’m really pleased to get through, and I’m just looking to build on Monte Carlo.”