Henman through to last 16

Tim Henman’s form was as sparkling as the Paris sunshine as he took his place in the fourth round of the French Open this afternoon for the first time in his career.

The British number one, despite playing in a midday temperature of 27 degrees, showed no signs of the mystery virus which had sapped his energy this past fortnight, as he swept to a convincing 7-6 6-1 6-2 victory in just one hour and 54 minutes against Spain’s Galo Blanco.

Now Henman has the perfect opportunity to go deep into a tournament which in the past he has treated largely as a way of improving his fitness in preparation for Wimbledon.

He plays French wild card Michael Llodra in the fourth round, a man ranked 94 in the world, 85 places behind him, and who has never won a title on the main tour.

And with Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick having already departed from his side of the draw, the prospect of a path to the semi-finals is becoming increasingly realistic.

Henman had admitted he had never felt as comfortable on clay as this season and it certainly looked that way.

Henman had to work harder against the Spaniard than in his first two matches at Roland Garros, but once he had wrapped up the first set tie-break 7-3 there was only one winner.

A screaming forehand saw him break Blanco’s serve in the first game of the second set. With it seemed to go Blanco’s resolve as the confidence oozed from Henman’s racket.

While Blanco managed to break Henman’s serve in the sixth game, having saved three set points, Henman immediately hit back to notch his fourth break to take the set.

The third set saw Henman lose his first service game and then rally to take the match.