However, Henman has now been given the all-clear to continue his US Open build-up with a first-round match against Argentina’s Guillermo Coria, at the Cincinnati Masters Series event today.. Brighton is forging ahead with plans to become the first city in Britain to ban smoking in pubs, clubs and restaurants. The British No 1 was hampered by the slight strain he picked up in winning the Washington Classic, when he was defeated by Nalbandian in the second round in Montreal. Roddick lost his serve just once against the Argentinian and needed less than an hour to tune up in style for the US Open, which begins later this month.Just hoping to get to Flushing Meadow fit enough to launch any sort of challenge is Time Henman.
She had been No 1 for 57 consecutive weeks.Clijsters rolled to a 5-0 lead against Davenport, a former world No 1 herself. “It makes you more motivated and makes you train harder.”The ranking is another achievement in a year that so far has been outstanding for the 20-year-old. She has reached at least the semi-finals in all of the 14 events she has played in and was only denied her first Grand Slam title when here countrywoman Justine Henin-Hardenne beat her in the French Open final.Serena Williams, the champion at five of the past six majors, had knee surgery at the satrt of this month and is expected to be out up to two months. Clijsters is also the only player to become the No 1 without first winning a Grand Slam title.”It’s something that always seems so far away, and it is always something that you work for,” Clijsters said. Clijsters, who moves up from No 2, is the first Belgian and the 12th woman to be No 1 since the rankings began in 1975.
Roddick was due to face Nalbandian in last night’s final after the Argentinian rallied from a set down to beat the German Rainer Sch?er 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.In Los Angeles, Kim Clijsters moved a step closer to becoming the world No 1 when she battled past the Italian Francesca Schiavone 7-5, 6-4 in the semi-finals of the JP Morgan Chase Open on Saturday. The 20-year-old Belgian was due to face Lindsay Davenport in yesterday’s final after the American had trounced Ai Sugiyama, of Japan, 6-2, 6-1.A victory over Davenport last night would have seen Clijsters become the first player to attain the No 1 ranking without winning a Grand Slam title since the WTA Tour introduced their ranking system in 1975.In Helsinki yesterday, Anna Pistolesi, of Israel, came back from a set down to beat the Croat Jelena Kostanic 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 and win the Helsinki Open title.. Agassi’s withdrawal leaves the French Open champion, Juan Carlos Ferrero, as the top seed.Andy Roddick advanced to the final of the Montreal Masters after a tense win over Roger Federer 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 on Saturday, depriving the Wimbledon champion of the chance to take over Agassi’s world No 1 ranking. “My knee was a little sore earlier in the week so I had an MRI scan to be on the safe side.”The soreness was more than likely caused by playing five matches in five days in Washington and not being able to prepare fully for that event due to my tonsillitis. I played a lot of tennis in a fairly short space of time.”Henman faces a tough task against the Argentinian Coria, who has won four titles this year.
Coria won their most recent meeting 6-2, 6-1 in Rome this year to avenge a defeat to Henman in Monte Carlo last year.Andre Agassi has pulled out of the Cincinnati Masters, saying he needs to limit his playing time before the US Open. Substitutes used: Saxton, Godwin, Huby, Johnson.Warrington: Penny; Gaskell, Sibbit, Westwood, Grose, Appo, N Wood, Hilton, Clarke, Fozzard, P Wood, Burns, Wainwright. Substitutes used: Hulse, Domic, Guisset, Stevens.Referee: A Klein (London).. Tim Henman is confident that he will be 100 per cent fit for next week’s Cincinnati Tennis Masters Series event after being dogged by a knee injury in Montreal last week.
The British No 1 was hampered by the slight strain he picked up in winning the Washington Classic as he was defeated by David Nalbandian, of Argentina, in the second round in Canada.
