[BigSister]

Struggling Henman out of US Open


Tim Henman's disappointing season continued as he crumbled to a 6-4 6-2 6-2 defeat to Fernando Verdasco in the first round of the US Open.
The 12th seed was troubled by a back injury in the lead-up to the tournament and it clearly affected him.

Big-hitting Spaniard Verdasco wrapped up victory in less than two hours.

Henman has won only one match since crashing out of Wimbledon in the second round and could now lose his British number one status to Greg Rusedski.

Rusedski and compatriot Andy Murray are also in action on Tuesday.

Henman's defeat means he has failed to advance beyond the third round at any of this year's Grand Slam tournaments.

The 30-year-old was first afflicted by the chronic back injury that hampered him against Verdasco a year ago.



On that occasion, the Briton still managed an impressive run to the semi-finals but there was little chance of a repeat this year once he was broken in the seventh game of the first set.

Having lost the first set, he dropped serve twice in each of the next two sets as 20-year-old left-hander Verdasco cruised to victory.