Henman wins after tie-break

Tim Henman moved into the third round of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, yesterday with a 6-2, 7-6 defeat of the Swiss-based Frenchman Nicolas Escude.

The pattern of play was set in the first game of the match, when Henman broke his opponent. The Briton led 4-0 but was 15-0 down in the fifth game when wind whipped up sand, forcing the players off.

When play resumed around 40 minutes later the 26-year-old Frenchman finally got off the mark, winning the fifth game.

The second set went with serve until the third game, when Henman broke to lead 2-1. The Briton saved two break points in the eighth game but still lost it as Escude squared the set at 4-4. The set went to a tie-break which Escude led 4-2, but Henman won the next five points to seal victory in 91 minutes.

Britain's Greg Rusedski had a good win in the opening round on Tuesday, defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero, of Spain, 6-4, 6-3. Rusedski hit 16 aces and achieved 83 per-cent accuracy on his first serve.