2003 Oct 29 - Revenge is sweet for Henman

Tim Henman pulled off a stunning victory against Sebastian Grosjean in the second of the Paris Masters tournament, coming back from a set down to win 3-6 6-4 7-5.

A poor start to the match saw Tim lose his first service game, although he was able to compose himself and break back immediately. There was no such luck in the sixth game as Tim was broken again, and the Frenchman held on to take the first set.

With the French crowd behind Sebastian the final outcome of this match was almost a formality, but Tim had other ideas and refused to be defeated by the man who knocked him out of Wimbledon this year.

In the second set Tim showed a willingness to get into the net at every opportunity. Each player was holding serve until Tim snatched a telling break which won the set to level the match at one set all.

With the match now in the balance you could sense an unease in the crowd at the start of the final set. The script was almost identical to the second set, and so too was the result as Tim broke the Frenchman in his last service game to win the match.

After the match Tim said:

"I thought it was good tennis, not great tennis, but in beating Grosjean in front of his home crowd in Paris there was an element of revenge.

"I would have much rather won one of those matches at Queen's or Wimbledon, but regarding my whole 2003 season it was great to beat someone like Grosjean at home.

"I had a difficult start in that match, but I then got much better groove on my serve and served much better in the second.

"I started to put pressure on him. The third set was a bit of a roller coaster again.

"But the win is a confidence booster for me, irrespective of how I do in the tournament, it sends me into the off-season with some positive thoughts."

Next up for Tim is the talented Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten, who defeated Wimbledon finalist Mark Philappoussis in an enthralling match today 6-7(5) 7-6(11) 7-6(1).