In both of the last two years, Tim Henman has gone out of the French Open in the third round at the hands of a Spaniard.

But for a fifth-set win by Argentine Guillermo Canas over Spain's Alberto Martin, that scenario was looming again.

Maybe it's an omen that Henman's luck at Roland Garros is changing.

And Henman's 6-4 6-2 6-2 win over Dutchman Sjeng Schalken was so assured, that the Briton can now face Canas on Friday with the very real hope of reaching round four at Roland Garros for the first time in his career.

"My reaction after the first set was that perhaps I was a bit fortunate," said Henman.

"But I won a set not playing quite my best, and if I improved my game I felt good about my chances - in the second and third sets it was really, really good."

The crucial factor in this match was the way Henman played in the big points.

Critical points

The Briton was ruthless when opportunities arose, converting six of the seven break points which came his way, while his opponent could only make two of the 10 which he carved out.

"It's obviously a very relevant point to the match," said Henman.

"They're the critical points, they're the ones which decide who gets the momentum going.

"I think I was a little bit more aggressive, I got my first hit in to put him on the defensive.

"And sometimes that came when he had break points, but also on mine when I could hit good returns or chip and charge - I was the one who could dictate the play."

Preparation for grass court season

Such has been Henman's improvement on clay that he went as far as to say that he felt he had a good chance against most players.

Henman is still unlikely to win the French Open, but the clay court season is no longer a wasted two-month period for the Briton.

"It might sound strange," said Henman, "but (the clay court season) is always great preparation for the grass season because you hit so many balls, and that's why you're always going to be in good shape.

"If you can serve and volley well on this stuff, then it will be that much easier on grass when you get more help from the surface.

"That's why I always approach this time of year as a positive time whatever the results."

So the results are going his way, but as Henman said himself: "You've got to keep it in perspective - I've never got past the third round here."