Henman happy to be back

Players Under the Microscope / Editor / 28 February 2007 / Leave a Comment

admitted he was surprised to play so well on his comeback from injury after beating Nicolas Mahut in straight sets in Las Vegas.

The British number two has been out of action since late last year with a knee injury and was forced to miss the Australian Open and the early-season tournaments around the world.

He was due to play in Marseille and Rotterdam earlier in February but pulled out of the French event to protect his knee, which has taken longer to heal than first thought, and then suffered a bout of flu, which stopped him playing in Holland.

The 32-year-old was happy with the way he played against French star Mahut but admitted that it was touch-and-go as to whether he would even start the round-robin tournament in Nevada.

"To play so consistently, to not drop serve having not played for so long, it was a bit surprising," he said.

"Friday night, Saturday, I felt awful, I was feverish and not really enjoying my experience of Vegas.

"But by Sunday, I came out here and hit for half an hour, started to feel better and then today I felt good on the court."

Henman now faces Spain's Feliciano Lopez in his second group match, with victory assuring the six-time Grand Slam semi-finalist a place in the last eight.

The Oxford-born right-hander is enjoying being back in action but confessed that his recent knee injury does still play on his mind.

"I am just excited to be out on the court," he added. "I still think a little bit cautiously having had the knee injury and been out for quite some time, but to be playing with no pain and moving better and better is the most important thing."

In an emerging market, Henman can be backed at 13.5 to win the tournament with Marat Safin favourite at 3.25 and James Blake, who lost his first match to 19-year-old Russian Evgeny Korolev, on offer at 4.