Tennis: Becker rolls back years to fell Henman

Tim Henman lost his third consecutive first round match yesterday. John Roberts reports from Dubai on a confidence crisis for the British No 2.

Having lost to a German Sinner in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Open last year, it was probably expecting a lot for Britain's Tim Henman to overcome a veritable German tennis saint this time. Boris Becker played up to his reputation last night, gradually overpowering Henman 7-5, 6-0 with the consistency of his serving and the authority of his ground strokes.

Confidence has not been Henman's strong suit of late. This was his third consecutive first round defeat, and his fourth defeat in a row including the Sydney final against the Slovakian, Karol Kucera. The recent defeats by the Frenchman Jerome Golmard in the first round of the Australian Open and last week to Germany's Ranier Schuttler in Split were akin to his early exit in Dubai a year ago at the hands of Martin Sinner.

Hoping to restore vitality to his game last night, Henman had the misfortune to meet a fit, sleek Becker who, though ranked 46 places below the Briton at No 64 in the world, showed glimpses of his irresistible form during the mid-1980s. Semi-retired, and keeping in trim mainly through training with the young German players in his charge, Becker showed an admirable appetite for the contest against an opponent seven years his junior.

Even when Henman was able to accomplish a semblance of parity during the opening set, Becker only conceded one point of his serve apart from being broken to love for 2-2. Indeed, the only other point he lost on serve during the set was a double-fault in the second game. Henman stayed in contention up to 5-5, but was then broken in the next game, netting a forehand after Becker pounced on a second serve.

After securing the set in 43 minutes, Becker romped through the remaining games in only 24 minutes. Henman became distinctly more uncomfortable by the second, especially after being broken in the opening game, when Becker cracked him with two excellent service returns. The German did not offer Henman even a sniff on his serve after the second game until the match was virtually won. With Becker serving at 5-0, Henman produced one of his best counters, a forehand down the line.

"I was pretty happy with the way things had gone until the end of the second set,'' said Henman, who today partners Becker in the first round of the doubles. "Definitely after that it was a case of his raising his game while mine dropped off a bit. It's probably a confidence thing. It's difficult playing when you don't have a great deal of confidence and it's something you have to work through on the practice court. It's definitely a learning process. You have to learn how to deal with these defeats.''

Becker was generous to Henman. "He's having a very good career so far,'' he said. "He's a good player and matches like tonight's will only make him stronger if he learns from them. I think he can have a good season.''

Marcelo Rios, the No 2 seed, departed as ineffectually in the first round here as he did in the final of last month's Australian Open. The Chilean was dispatched, 6-3, 6-3, by New Zealand's Brett Steven, ranked No 50 in the world. It was perhaps not surprising that Rios was late to the ball. He was late to the event, having forgotten his passport on Friday and changed his flight plans to Sunday.

Jeff Tarango experienced a stress-free afternoon, advancing to the second round at the expense of the No 5 seed, Sergi Bruguera, 6-3, 6-3. The often- volatile American was calmly efficient on this occasion, his only problems arising when it came to finishing the job. He required three match points and was helped along by a net cord.