Britons bag double in steamy Cincinnati
( 2001-08-10 10:14 ) (7 )

henman in Masters Series henman through

Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski did the double for Britian, winning through into the quarter-finals of the US$2.95-million Masters Series with each tasting straight-set success on Thursday.

Seventh-seed Henman, last week's back problems behind him, fought through in one hour, 48 minutes to eliminate German threat Nicolas Kiefer 7-5, 6-3.

Unseeded Rusedski ousted Austrian qualifier Stefan Koubek 6-3, 6-3.

Both men were awaiting Friday opponents on a hard-court which players have complained is made all the more faster by the balls being used this week. Many have lamented the fact the balls fly through the air and are hard to control.

Rusedski, whose spot at the bottom of the draw could have been filled by Andre Agassi had the American not gone out in the first round Monday, will play either odds-on title favourite Patrick Rafter or American long-shot outsider James Blake.

Henman, losing finalist here last year to Swede Thomas Enqvist, gets either Argentine Guillermo Canas or American tennis heart-throb Jan-Michael Gambill

Against Koubek, Rusedski barely put a foot or shot wrong as he moved into his first quarter-final at the Masters Series level since Stuttgart last year.

The Canadian-born Briton claimed the first set with a break, then took a 2-0 lead in the second against the qualifier. Rusedski lost his advantage but got it back for another break for 5-3. He served out the match a game later.

"It's the perfect time to take advantage of the draw, when it opens up, you have to take your chance," Rusedski said.

Rusedski has spent this year de-constructing and then putting his game back together again with the help of various coaches including one-time mentor Pat Cash, a bio-mechanist and a full-tiime physical trainer.

"I feel my game is getting better, but there is still some work to be done," he said. "I need to be more solid and I'm in the process of building."

Whatever he achieves this summer and autumn will be an added extra for the big-lefty, since Rusedski has no appreciable results from 12 months ago to worry about.

"If I didn't think I could still improve, it wouldn't be so exciting," he said. "But the older you get, the more precautions you have to take. By the end of the year, I hope most of the work on my game will be done and I can start fresh in 2002."

Henman had to work through breaks and break-backs to defeat Kiefer and take a 3-2 career mark in their series.

He took the tight opening set in nearly an hour after coming back from a break and finishing on a smash. In the second, the seventh seed earned and lost a break, then got back into command. An ace yielded a match point and a volley putaway put him into the last eight.

"He dominated in the first set, but I was able to pick up my level when he served for it at 5-4, that was crucial," said Henman. "I played well at 3-4 in the second, had a couple of chip-and-charge points which worked.

"I would have liked to have taken a few more of my chances and I need to work on shot selection."

With Pete Sampras out in the second round at the hands of Spaniard Alberto Martin, rafter and top seed Gustavo Kuerten move even higher in the title betting.

Kuerten was facing a showdown between the last two Grand Slam winners when he takes on Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia.