Injury forces Henman out

Henman had reached the third round at the RCA

Fifth seed Tim Henman has pulled out of the RCA Championship with a shoulder injury.

Henman had an MRI scan to assess the problem and cited inflammation as the reason for his withdrawal.

He was due to face Dutchman Martin Verkerk in the third round of the event in Indianapolis but pulled out only hours before he was due to take the court.

Hopefully with some pretty intense treatment and some rest it shouldn't linger too long

Tim Henman

"It's been a little bit sore for the past week, and it's something I have had before," said Henman.

"There were a couple of times in the third set last night I went for slightly more and felt it and that was a slight concern.

"But I didn't expect it to react as badly as it did last night and this morning. It left me with no option but to pull out.

"I tried to hit for five or 10 minutes but there was no way I was going to be able to play."

Henman, who had struggled past Chile's Nicolas Massu on Wednesday, said he should be fit in time for the start of the US Open on 26 August.

"It's not great right now, but hopefully with some pretty intense treatment in the next few days and some rest it shouldn't linger too long," he said.

"It is frustrating, especially after having got through a match like that last night.

"I was looking to build from that and have a good week. But I don't think it's a problem.

"I feel I've been playing pretty well and, although I would have liked to have more matches, as long as I go in 100% healthy and mentally and physically fresh there's no reason why I should not have my best run at the Open."

Verkerk advanced straight into the quarter-finals where he will play Greg Rusedski, who beat world number one Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 6-4 on Thursday.