Henman surprised by ease of Vegas win

Tim Henman has admitted that he was surprised by the ease of his victory in his first match since October.

Henman won his opening round robin game in the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas with a 6-1 6-2 win over France's Nicolas Mahut.

The 32-year-old from Oxfordshire needed just over an hour to see off Mahut and showed no signs of rustiness or fatigue having been sidelined by both illness and a knee injury in the past few months.

The British number two, who knows victory over Spain's Feliciano Lopez will guarantee him a place in the last eight, reflected: "To play so consistently, to not drop serve having not played for so long, it was a bit surprising."

He added: "I am just excited to be out on the court. 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."

Henman also admitted that all had not gone to plan since his arrival in the US: "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."

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