Henman Shocked After Bagel, Favorites Win in MiamiPosted on March 28, 2006 The unpredictable Tim Henman found a way to lose Monday at the Masters Series-Miami on the heels of consecutive victories over former No. 1s Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt, baking a first-set bagel before self destructing in an 0-6, 6-1, 7-5 loss to German qualifier Simon Greul.
Henman grew visibly nervous and tentative in the third set after blowing a 4-3 lead, with the Brit finally dropping serve at 5-6 to give up the match. "No doubt the most bizarre I've ever played. I'm shocked, really," Henman told reporters. "His level went from nonexistent to playing some pretty good stuff in the space of a game." After losing the first set handily, Greul changed his game and crashed the net, winning 19 of 25 points and keeping the Brit off balance. "I wanted to keep the pressure on him," Greul said. "If he's putting the pressure on me coming to the net, it's difficult for me. So I tried to come to the net, force him to make some mistakes, and it worked. Normally I'm a baseliner, but I'm trying to go to the net more often." Other upset winners on the day were Russian Dmitry Tursunov (d. (24) Andreev in three), and (29) Olivier Rochus, with the scampering Belgian out-hustling (7) Guillermo Coria in straight sets. Seeded winners into the fourth round Monday were (1) Roger Federer (d. (27) Haas), (4) Andy Roddick (d. (31) Verdasco), (9) James Blake (d. (23) Nieminen 6-1 in the third), (11) Dave Ferrer (d. (19) Grosjean from a set down), and (32) Juan Ignacio Chela (d. Vliegen). "I played a really solid match," Federer told reporters after putting in an almost flawless performance against Haas. "I started well, hit the ball well and didn't miss much. It was tough for Tommy, I didn't give him any easy balls." Marquee match-ups Tuesday in Miami are (5) Nikolay Davydenko vs. (22) Mario Ancic, (4) Andy Roddick vs. qualifier Simon Greul, (1) Roger Federer vs. Dmitry Tursunov, and in doubles (1) the Bryan brothers vs. Frenchmen Sebastien Grosjean/Florent Serra. |
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