Henman still fighting

Henman: Final fling goes on

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Tim Henman prolonged his final US Open assault by producing his best tennis of the year to see off the dangerous Dmitry Tursunov in the first round at Flushing Meadows.

Henman may be about to end his playing days but he showed that he can still mix it with the best as he saw off powerful Russian Tursunov 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-4.

Number 27 seed Tursunov had won five of the last six meetings and with Henman winning just five matches in 11 tournaments the Briton's appearance in the Louis Armstrong Stadium was thought to be his swansong on the ATP Tour.

However, Henman, who received the warmest of welcomes onto the court, began quickly and took the first set relatively comfortably, but Tursunov responded in kind to take the second.

A break in the eighth game of the third set gave Henman the edge as his serve-and-volley attack started to frustrate the at times unpredictable Russian.

Henman broke again in the fourth to lead 2-1 but, as always, there was the Henman blip and his following service game was broken as Tursunov levelled at 2-2.

Henman hit back immediately though and this time was able to hold his serve with ease to win through in just under three hours and set up a second round tie with Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Satisfying victory

Henman, a US Open semi-finalist in 2004, inflicted a first opening round defeat on Tursunov in his four appearances in the tournament, and he was delighted to have extended his Grand Slam career by at least another match.

"I won't start running before I can walk but it was great today, great to get a win," Henman told Sky Sports after the match.

"As I've said before I've lost to him in all four slams and it's great to get a win at last.

"Over five sets, the nature of the way I played was very satisfying.

"I know there aren't too many more opportunities to play in an arena like this. I felt my game got better and better and I'm really satisfied with my performance.

"I had a lot of support here and that was always going to make for a special atmosphere for me.

"I served consistently, I didn't give him too many angles and was putting lots of pressure on his serve."

Henman insisted he did not feel any extra pressure from the thought that it could have been his last match on the Tour - and will also be relaxed for his second round tie.

"I've played 750, 800 matches and I tried to view it as another one and now I've given myself an opportunity in the next round."