 Henman lost to Mario Ancic in last year's Rotterdam quarter-finals |
Tim Henman lost out in a tough battle with 18-year-old Serbian Novak Djokovic at the Rotterdam Open - and with it his grip on the British number one spot. Andy Murray will bring Henman's long reign as the highest-ranked British player to an end when the latest rankings are announced on Monday.
Henman looked in good shape when he broke to edge a tight first set, but Djokovic then took control.
And he broke Henman's serve early in the third to earn a 5-7 6-3 6-4 win.
"It was a tough match - there was some good quality tennis but he deserved to win in the end," said Henman.
"I felt the quality of tennis was pretty high. At this level it boils down to the big points and in the first set I was the one that won them.
"At the beginning of the second he started to really return the ball well.
"I still kept holding onto my serve but eventually he hit a great return and a topspin lob winner and you've got to give him credit for that."
Djokovic will face sixth seed Radek Stepanek next after the Czech beat Frenchman Fabrice Santoro 6-4 6-1.
In another of Thursday's second-round matches, Olivier Rochus surprised third seed David Ferrer 6-4 6-4.
MMIX
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