Henman slams his chances

Chris Jones13 April 2012

British No 1 Tim Henman believes his ninth career singles title, in the Australian Hardcourts Championship, will finally allow him to reach the fifth round of the Australian Open, which starts next Monday in Melbourne.

But talk of breaking his Slam duck is, however, not on the agenda for the year's first major.

In keeping with his personality, Henman is playing down his chances of a first Slam title, but there is no hiding the massive confidence boost he has received from this timely tournament triumph.

Henman's 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 Final win over Aussie Mark Philippoussis in Adelaide, was just reward for the arduous training regime he has followed in America and London.

Now, after beating Philippoussis for the first time since 1996, Henman is physically and mentally ready for the Open, which is played on a hard court surface that should suit his game. He said: "There are so many good players in the Open draw that winning in Adelaide guarantees me nothing when I pitch up in Melbourne.

"However, I'd much rather turn up there having just won a tournament than having just lost in the first round, so we'll just have to wait and see. You want to go in full of confidence and I feel full of confidence, but I have to try to work hard in the next few days and start all over again.

"I'm delighted with my performance and the result because it was a good test of character for me.

"Having served for the match in the second set and played a poor game it would have been easy for me to get down on myself, but I stayed calm and focused and managedto pull through a tough third set. I felt like Mark was the better player early on and I couldn't get into his service games.

"But then that's the time you've got to hang in there and I got my chances and I took them."

Henman won £16,000, but more importantly he banked 35 Champions Race points, which takes him joint second in the table.

The 27-year-old, a semi-finalist in Adelaide last year, will now spend this week preparing for the Open with coach Larry Stefanki.

Meanwhile, Mary Pierce's Australian Open preparation was hampered by rain today after the first day of the Tasmanian International in Hobart was washed out.

More rain is expected tomorrow, which is when the former Australian Open champion, who has been recovering from a leg injury sustained last week, was expected to face American Kristina Brandi.

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