Henman won the Swiss Indoors title in 1998 and 2001

Watched by Britain's new Davis Cup coach Peter Lundgren, Henman raced to a 3-0 lead before dropping serve himself.

But the 32-year-old re-established his advantage in a marathon sixth game and another break sealed the first set.

Henman broke Rochus again at 2-1 in the second set and eased through to victory and a meeting with Stanislas Wawrinka.

Interview: Tim Henman

Swiss player Wawrinka knocked out eighth seed Agustin Callerin in straight sets.

Apart from one game in the first set when he was broken, Henman was never threatened by an untypically toothless display from the elder of the two Rochus brothers.

The Briton won the Basle title in 1998 and 2001 and said that had given him a lot of confidence for the week.

If I can get inside the 32 (seeds for the Australian Open), it would be good, but if not, c'est la vie Tim Henman

"When you come back to a place where you've had a lot of success and consistency, it always gives you extra confidence," said Henman.

"That was evident when I got here Sunday and started hitting.

"After 35 or 40 minutes, I felt right with the pace of the court and the way the ball felt on my racket. It gives extra confidence and that is good."

Henman has been in good form in the latter stages of the season, reaching the final of the Japan Open, where he lost to world number one Roger Federer, before being edged out in last week's Madrid Masters by David Nalbandian.

But he admitted that his late run of form might not be enough to achieve his aim of a seeding at the Australian Open.

"(The seeding) is a goal to work for, but if it doesn't happen, I won't lose a great deal of sleep," said the Briton, who is currently ranked 38 in the world.

"If I can get inside the 32, it would be good, but if not, c'est la vie."

Victory in the next round could give him an early chance to exact revenge on his Madrid conqueror Nalbandian, who is seeded two, in the third round.

Argentine Nalbandian beat Croat lucky loser Roko Karanusic 6-2 6-4 to reach round two.

Defending champion Fernando Gonzalez was made to fight hard in his opening match, which he won 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-3) against world number 124 Simone Bolelli of Italy.

Third seed Gonzalez needed treatment on a leg problem three games into the match and looked vulnerable throughout.

Gonzalez is still in the running for one of four places still up for grabs in the season-ending Masters Cup.

Argentine seventh seed Jose Acasuso had a much easier passage through, beating Spain's Albert Montanes 6-4 6-3.

Another Argentine, ninth seed Juan Ignacio Chela, saw off Italy's Filippo Volandri 6-4 7-5.