Tennis: Russian Tears But Henman Has Few Fears

On the opening day of the French Open which saw the defending champion Anastasia Myskina beaten in the first round, unprecedented on the women's side at Roland Garros, Tim Henman progressed quietly and confidently with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Juan Pablo Brzezicki of Argentina that could best be described as a breeze in the Bois.

Last year, at the beginning of his gloriously unexpected run to the semi-finals, Henman, suffering from a virus, was forced to come back from two sets down against France's Cyril Saulnier, and could scarcely believe he had managed it. This time there were no such alarms.

"There was a different feeling this year," said Henman. "Some might say there was going to be added pressure and expectation, but it was fun to come here early last week and begin practising in surroundings that held so many great memories from 12 months ago."

Henman might have expected one of the more prestigious courts on which to begin his 10th French Open campaign. Court No7 lies just to the side of the main Philippe Chatrier arena, not exactly in its shadow, but certainly overlooked. And, once Myskina had lost, several fans were able to turn around and peer down, with the occasional shout of support for Monsieur Le Brit.

Not that he needed a huge amount of encouragement for he was in almost complete control throughout against the lucky loser Brzezicki. The Argentinian's game transpired to be a good deal less complicated than the pronunciation of his surname which looks as if it has slipped off the tail-end of an optician's test chart.

This was his first grand slam match, and it was soon obvious why his previous exploits have been limited to the lower tiers of the men's tour. Brzezicki was capable of hitting shots of blinding power and accuracy, notably on the backhand, worthy of winning any point, anywhere. The trouble was he could only strike them in singles and never clusters.

Originally Henman had been due to meet Italy's Potito Starace, an altogether more daunting prospect, and he had to tap into the bush telegraph to find out as much as he could on his new opponent, about whom he knew next to nothing. But ultimately it was a question of Henman keeping his own house in order and finishing off the points at the net whenever possible.

"If I can keep doing the things I do best, then that's going to give me the best chance of progressing," he said. Next up for Henman is the Peruvian Luis Horna, who beat France's Jérôme Haehnel 7-6, 7-5, 6-3. "He's confident on this surface, so I'm going to have to be at my best, stay aggressive and move forward."

Earlier both the world No1 Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who seems certain to be a future rival for that position, won in straight sets and, like Henman, returned to their hotels satisfied they had completed their jobs with a minimum of fuss and with energy conserved.

Federer beat the Israeli qualifier Dudi Sela 6-1, 6-4, 6-0 while Nadal, the fourth seed, defeated Germany's Lars Burgsmuller 6-1, 7-6, 6-1. The 18-year-old Spaniard's victory was a little more special as it was his first at Roland Garros. "It was not the best match I have played in recent times but I feel fine," said Nadal, the winner of two major clay events this year: Monte Carlo and Rome.

Myskina's 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 defeat by Maria Sánchez Lorenzo of Spain was all too predictable. The Russian has had a horrid time recently, both publicly and privately. She has been carrying a long-term shoulder injury although more pertinently her mother, Galina, has cancer.

So the joyous memories of last year on the show court, when Myskina became the first female Russian grand slam champion, were understandably tempered from the opening shots.

Only Jennifer Capriati, in Australia two years ago, and Steffi Graf, at Wimbledon in 1994, had lost in the first round as defending champions in the open era before, but such a statistic was rendered all but meaningless by Myskina's personal troubles. "It's a tough time, and I'll probably take some time off, " she said. The sympathy was tangible.