Henman proves too strong for Tabara

Tim Henman progressed to the second round of the Cincinnati Masters in Ohio yesterday with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Michal Tabara. The British No 1 was never under any pressure against an opponent he easily defeated in his only previous meeting, at Brighton last autumn.

Henman held his serve in the first set, having broken Tabara once, and the Briton then excelled in the second against the surprise winner of an ATP event in India this year.

The 21-year-old Czech right-hander could not repeat anything like that outstanding form and was comprehensively beaten by Henman. But the Briton struggled to reproduce his best form, securing just three out of 10 break point opportunities, although he was assisted by Tabara's 32 unforced errors. Henman never looked in danger of being broken, let alone losing a set.

"As first-round matches go they're never particularly easy but I was pleased," Henman said. "I was serving pretty consistently and, considering the heat, I felt like I wasn't making too many unforced errors. I was keeping the points pretty short."

It was only Henman's third match since his five-set Wimbledon semi-final loss to the eventual champion Goran Ivanisevic, a match which spanned three days due to rain stoppages.

"I was very disappointed to lose a match of that nature, it was frustrating," said Henman, who spent several days at home getting over the disappointment. "Most people said we went to Italy but we were in London. I was just happy to stay at home, switch off and catch up with family and friends."

Henman, a second-round loser to the Spaniard Albert Costa in Montreal last week, said his back was giving him some problems. He had to flex it after stretching for an overhead in the sixth game of the second set. "My back was a little bit shaky," Henman said. "It wasn't very good after Montreal, although it didn't hurt during the match against Costa. I didn't practise for a few days and today it felt 95 per cent."

Henman recently began working with a new coach, Larry Stefanki, who has previously helped John McEnroe, Marcelo Rios and Yevgeny Kafelnikov. "Having worked with Larry for just over two weeks, I think he's got some really good ideas and a hell of a lot of experience at the top level of the game," Henman said.

The British No 2, Greg Rusedski, survived a scare before booking a place in the second round with a three-set victory over Germany's David Prinosil yesterday. Rusedski trailed by a set and 1-4 in the second set tie-break before coming back for a 3-6, 7-6, 6-1 success.

Prinosil raced into a 3-0 lead and wrapped up the opening set with little difficulty. Although Rusedski improved during the second, he could not force a break and the set eventually went to a tie-break.

The German looked to have secured his second-round berth when he went into a 4-1 lead, but Rusedski played a fine lob before going on to win the set. The deciding set was one-sided, with Prinosil demoralised by his tie-break failure.

The American Venus Williams thwarted Monica Seles's bid to defeat the world's top three players in succession with a 6-2, 6-3 victory to retain her Acura Classic title in San Diego on Sunday.

The reigning Wimbledon champion showed improved technique on her forehand side and had too much court know-how for Seles in capturing her fourth title of the year.

Unlike her triumphs over Jennifer Capriati and Martina Hingis last week, Seles did not have the luxury of facing a weak second serve she could attack.

Seventh-seed Seles had chances to gain early momentum in the opening game, but failed to convert three break-points and Williams quickly found her feet. Williams broke Seles to seize a 4-2 lead with two full-swing volleys on the run and a forehand down the line.

Williams won the set with another service break on a backhand cross-court winner, racing to a 4-0 lead in the second set. Seles broke back but Williams held for 5-2 and, in the final game, served three successive aces to capture the title.

Anna Kournikova, who has just returned to action after a five-and-a-half month injury lay-off, has pulled out of this week's Los Angeles Classic. Her agent said the 20-year-old Russian was withdrawing with a sore foot after she and Hingis had lost to Cara Black of Zimbabwe and the Russian Elena Likhovtseva 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in the Acura Classic doubles final.