Henman to be tested by big-serving Norman

Tim Henman and Dick Norman have both come a long way since the 6ft 8in Belgian defeated the stylish Oxfordshire player in three sets in the semi-finals of the Northern Electric Newcastle Challenger in 1995. But while Henman has taken the high road, Norman's journey has been mainly downhill.

Their paths are due to converge in the second round of the United States Open here, where Norman's powerful left-handed serve is likely to test Henman's dodgy right shoulder more thoroughly than the British No 1's first-round opponent, Tuomas Ketola of Finland, who won only three games.

Henman, who had heat treatment yesterday, said the shoulder was stiff but not sore. In view of the wet weather here, he may be able to rest the shoulder longer than anticipated. The 31-year-old Norman, a qualifier, cannot wait to get back on court to continue the first US Open campaign of his career. He was encouraged by his display on Wednesday, when he recovered from two sets to love down to overcome the Czech Bohdan Ulihrach.

Norman, it may be remembered, made his mark as a qualifier at Wimbledon in 1995 by defeating Pat Cash, Stefan Edberg and Todd Woodbridge before losing to Boris Becker in the third round. Norman's goal was a place in the world rankings, and in 1998, after peaking at No 111, he became "disgusted" with his lack of progress and decided to leave the ATP Tour.

From 1998 until 2000, Norman taught tennis and played recreational golf. He then had second thoughts about the professional tennis circuit and decided to make a comeback. The problem was he did not have a ranking and had to beg for a wild card into an International Tennis Federation "futures" event in Spain. "At that time I was afraid to lose," he recalled, "because if I lost I wondered if I would get another chance."

Norman won four of his first six "futures" tournaments and gradually began to build his ranking, which currently stands at No 134 and rising after winning three ATP "Challenger" events this year. Even so, Norman did not fancy his chances in the US Open qualifying tournament. He prepared by playing inter-league club matches on clay courts in Germany and told his coach, Norbert Palmier, not to bother accompanying him to New York. "I was so pleased to qualify," Norman said, "because now I have played in the main draw of all four Grand Slams."

Henman set his record straight against Norman in 1996, defeating him in straight sets in the first round in Seoul. Since then Henman has competed in four Wimbledon semi-finals and is currently ranked No 5 in the world. "Maybe Tim won't like my kicking left-hand serving," Norman said, adding: "In 1995 I had a big serve and nothing else. Now I do not serve as big, but the rest of my game has improved."

Greg Rusedski's second-round opponent, Paradorn Srichaphan, of Thailand, spoke yesterday about the inspiration he gained from defeating Andre Agassi in straight sets in the second round at Wimbledon. "That win gave me a lot of confidence," said Srichaphan, who last Sunday won his first ATP Tour title in Long Island. "The way I played against Agassi means I can play with with anybody. I've been working hard building up my physical fitness for the past two years, and it's paying off."

Mark Philippoussis, who retired injured during his first round match against Sjeng Schalken on Tuesday, has bruised the bone in his left knee and will miss Australia's Davis Cup tie against India in Adelaide next month.