Tim Henman crashed out of the Dubai Open on day one with a surprise defeat to Czech qualifier Tomas Zib. The Briton suffered an early break of serve and could not recover in the opening set, but fought back to force a final set tie-break.
Zib had lost his only two previous meetings with Henman, but held his nerve for a 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-4) win.
His victory sets up a last-16 clash with Romania's Andrei Pavel, who beat Czech Bohdan Ulihrach 6-1 2-6 7-5.
"All credit to Zib," said the 11th-ranked Henman. "He certainly won the match.
"He hit some great passing shots and was very, very solid from the baseline.
"I don't feel I was making mistakes. I was putting him under as much pressure as I could so I give him a lot of credit."
The 149th-ranked Zib said: "I knew if I started well against him I would get some chances.
"I knew Tim's game very well and that was the key of the match.
"I think Tim was struggling a little bit with his serve so he couldn't play every ball serve and volley, and I knew from the baseline he was weaker than at the net."
MMIX
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