Andy Murray and Tim Henman were quick to play down talk of the torch being passed in British tennis after the teenager won their match in Basel. The 18-year-old Scot beat 31-year-old Henman 6-2 5-7 7-6 (7-4) in their first-ever encounter, but denied it signalled a changing of the guard.
"It's not for me," said Murray. "He's still a top 30 player even though he's had a bad year by his standards.
"If he plays the way he can, he can still be in the top 30 or even 20."
Murray, who faces Tomas Berdych at 1900 BST on Thursday, added: "At the moment I'm still just in the top 70, so it's not like that at all."
Henman was equally mystified by suggestions that he was handing over his dominance of the British game to Murray.
 |  Coming back for the first time after serving for it changes everything |
"I don't know what this mystery thing is that I'm meant to be passing on - what is it? A torch, a flag, a baton?" said Henman.
"Whatever it is I'm more than happy for Andy to have it. On this occasion, I won't be offended.
"I guess I've had it since the first time I beat (former British number one) Jeremy Bates but for us players it's irrelevant.
"I'm frustrated and disappointed to have lost today because I don't feel I executed my shots very well but in the overall context of things it's just another match."
However, Murray did admit that coming through despite failing to serve out the match in the second set made it the biggest win of his career so far.
"I've always believed in myself and believed that I can win matches like these," he said.
"Coming back for the first time after serving for it changes everything. I've never won any matches like that before, it's good for you mentally.
"I never want to lose a match - I want to win every one that I play."
MMIX
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