Henman's golden Gol

Henman is sheltered from the Hamburg heat

A fantastic fightback by Tim Henman ensured his passage into the third round of the Hamburg Masters Series.

The British number one beat French clay court specialist Jerome Golmard 2-6 6-4 6-1.

Henman looked on the way out after producing an error-strewn performance to lose the first set 6-2 against Golmard, ranked 34th in the world.

Golmard continued to dominate early in the second set but despite a string of unforced errors, Henman hung on and eventually made the decisive break to lead 5-4 and close out the set one game later.

Henman showed why he is world number 11 by dominating the final set, finally finding his service touch on the slow surface and produced a succession of passing shots that the demoralised Golmard was unable to counter.

Calibre

Henman, who defeated the Frenchman in the Australian Open earlier in the year, broke Golmard's serve in the fourth game and it was downhill all the way from there as the Englishman cruised to a 6-1 win in the deciding set.

After the game Henman said: "I gave him my serve twice in the first set and that's something you can't afford to do against a player of his calibre on this surface.

"The second set was a bit of a struggle as well and I was really pleased to get that break early in the third and finish him off.

"That's certainly not the best I have ever played but the important thing is that I will be coming back tomorrow to try again. Winning is a big bonus for me."