Tennis: Henman on the road to recovery

Tim Henman is on the comeback trail after missing last weekend's Davis Cup defeat by Zimbabwe following an operation on his elbow. The British No 1 expects to be fit for Wimbledon which starts on 23 June, although he has yet to begin full training.

The 22-year-old said: "It has been a frustrating few weeks for me. Obviously having an operation does interrupt things, but it's definitely improving so hopefully I'll be able to get back on the court. It's just a question of waiting and seeing really. I'll just have to see how my elbow reacts when I start practising again and I'll take it from there."

Asked on Radio 5 Live if he would be fit for Wimbledon, he said: "I hope so." Henman will be keen to return in time for the French Open which begins in May, a month before Wimbledon.

The British No 7 Danny Sapsford fought back from losing the opening set to defeat the American Doug Flach convincingly, 6-7, 6-2, 6-0, in the first round of the Hong Kong Open yesterday.

The Davis Cup player from Weybridge had only made the first round after beating Lars Wahlgren, of Sweden, 6-4, 6-2 in the final qualifying round. Sapsford had overcome Russia's Vladimir Malolin, who retired at 6-3, 3- 1 down, and Australian Andrew Kratzmann 6-1, 6-1 in the first two qualifying rounds.

American Chanda Rubin scored the first upset of the Bausch & Lomb Championships with a 6-4, 7-6 first-round victory over the 10th seed, Barbara Paulus of Austria.

Jennifer Capriati rebounded from 5-1 down in the first set to capture a 7-6, 6-2 first-round match over 73rd-ranked Catalina Cristea of Romania. The victory sets up an all-American second-round contest between the 27th- ranked Capriati and the third seed Monica Seles today.