Tim Henman emerged victorious in this morning's 'Battle of Britain' over Greg Rusedski to advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Henman, the highest ranking player left in the draw, looked every bit the favourite as he triumphed 6-4 6-3 1-6 6-3 in two hours 27 minutes to set up a last 16 clash with Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman.
The British No 1, seeded sixth, pushed his record to 5-2 over 28th-seed Rusedski during a game which turned on an explosive incident late in the second set when Henman attempted to serve it out at 5-3. A Henman volley appeared out over the baseline with Rusedski holding break point, but to his amazement Henman was given the point for deuce. Rusedski exploded, storming to the chair of Swiss umpire Andrea Egli and ranting at him over his failure to over-rule the line judge.
Henman then got to set point against the rattled Rusedski and served out for a 2-0 sets lead, before going down 6-1 in the third to set up a tense fourth set. The 27-year-old saved three break points as Rusedski pushed him all the way, but he eventually took a deserved victory on his first match point.
Meanwhile, Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman beat 12th seed Guillermo Canas of Argentina 6-3 6-2 6-4 to earn a last 16 meeting with Henman. Bjorkman, an Australian Open quarter-finalist in 1998, has beaten the Englishman in four of their six previous meetings. The 29-year-old is the world number 64 but he reached fourth in 1997 and finished last season as the top doubles player in the game.
Filed by Shane Murray & Amanda Fennelly
