Tennis: Tim Henman Crashes Out in First Round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami

British No2 Tim Henman's disappointing start to 2007 continued today as he slumped to a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 defeat at the hands of Argentina's Guillermo Canas in the first round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami - his third defeat in four matches this year.

Henman only returned to action in late February after taking time off with a knee injury, but lost to Feliciano Lopez in the second round of the Las Vegas Open, before squandering a final-set lead against Jan Hernych to lose in the first round at Indian Wells last week. Against Canas today he once again looked to have taken control of the match as he eased into an early lead but the Argentinian stormed back to claim a convincing win in one hour and 52 minutes.

Henman had looked in a confident mood as he stormed into a 4-1 first-set lead with an early break of Canas's serve, and showed great determination to survive three break points in the ninth game. Henman then broke again to steal a 2-1 advantage in the second set, but Canas fought back with two quick breaks of his own to take a 4-2 lead before taking the tie to a decisive set at the first opportunity.

Canas completed the comeback in the third set as Henman failed to hold his serve all set, with his only success coming with a break of the Argentinean's serve at 0-2 down.

"Obviously my game plan was to get to the net at every opportunity, and especially in the windy conditions," said Henman afterwards. "I think I wanted him to hit as many passing shots as I could, and for a little bit, I played some fantastic tennis. But it doesn't take a great deal for that to turn around and I think a combination of my first serve percentage dropping a little bit, and then him starting to pick up his passing shots and return a serve ... You know, the balance begins to shift."

The win was just the latest step in a stunning return to action for Canas after a 15-month doping ban. He returned in September and recorded an emphatic straight-sets victory over Roger Federer last week, ending the world No1's 41-match winning streak. He will face Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round after the 19th seed received a first round bye.

"I played very well the first tournaments and then I get good confidence in my game," said Canas. "Week by week, I'm getting better in my tennis, in my mentality, in my performance."