TENNIS: Defeated Henman wins admirers

Todd Woodbridge ended Tim Henman's hopes of glory in the run-up to Wimbledon, and then told the young Briton he can become a star if he thinks bigger. The Australian moved into the semi-finals of the Nottingham Open with a 6-3, 7-6 victory, but had to withstand a proud fight by the 20-year-old from Oxford.

It was a display that had the home crowd not only cheering Henman's winners, but also, to the Australian's obvious displeasure, Woodbridge's errors. But the world No 45 said: "He deserves it because he is a very good prospect, with a good serve and a good all-court game Now all he needs is to work on his strength. He hung in there and and he reminds me of Jeremy Bates, but I think he'll be better than him."

Henman, who recently squeezed into the world's top 200, failed to produce the style that brought him a straight-sets victory over the Swedish second seed, Jonas Bjorkman, in the first round.