Tennis: Henman hits back to dump Massu.
Tim Henman continued his excellent early-season form by reaching the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters Series event in Monte Carlo yesterday.The British No 1 produced a spirited performance to see off powerful Chilean Nicolas Massu, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a thrilling third-round tie. Henman will now meet Germany's Rainer Schuettler, who beat Lleyton Hewitt 6-4 3-6 6-4.
In contrast to his opening matches in this event, Henman looked far more assured in a match which saw both men produce their best tennis playing against the serve.
Henman said: 'I was struggling to find my rhythm in the first set. He was hitting great returns and making life difficult but I knew if I found my serve I still had a real chance.'
Schuettler will keep a photo souvenir of his victory over Hewitt. The German fourth seed took a picture of the ball's mark on the clay after a disputed call allowed the Australian former world No 1 to save a crucial break point.
'I took a picture because the ball was clearly out,' Schuettler said. 'We have fantastic equipment to judge balls and we see mistakes like this.'
Schuettler was 2-1 up in the second set and a break would have allowed him to lead 3-1 and take a giant step towards match victory.
On break point, the German judged Hewitt's serve long but the chair umpire checked the mark and awarded the point to the Australian.
To everybody's surprise, Schuettler fumbled in his bag, seized a disposable camera and took a picture of the mark as evidence of his good faith.
He received a warning and Hewitt went on to win eight of the next nine games. 'Everybody complains about tennis getting boring and when someone does something out of the ordinary, he receives a warning,' Schuettler said. 'The crowd laughed but not the umpire. It's a shame.'
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| Publication: | The Birmingham Post (England) |
|---|---|
| Date: | Apr 23, 2004 |
| Words: | 311 |
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