Henman took advantage of Russell's many errors

The former British number one raced into a 4-0 lead in the first set after a string of errors from the American, before comfortably clinching it 6-1.

Henman battled to hold serve at 3-3 in a scrappy second set before wrapping up the win on a tie-break 7-5.

Meanwhile, Alex Bogdanovic was beaten by Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4 7-6 (13-11) in his rain-affected match.

News conference: Tim Henman

606: DEBATE How much confidence should Henman take from this win?

The 23-year-old trailed by a set overnight after a rain stopped play and went on to lose 6-4 7-6 (13-11).

Josh Goodall and Jamie Baker also lost in straight sets to Teimuraz Gabashvili and Juan Martin del Potro respectively.

It's these type of games that are always nice to come through Tim Henman

"That's the highest ranked player I have played against so it was a tough test for me but I think I can play a lot better so it's quite disappointing for me," Baker said.

"I know I can compete with him. I played five out of 10 today and if I feel like I had a chance in the first set playing five out of 10 then it is not all bad."

Former Nottingham champion Jonas Bjorkman wasted little time disposing of British number four Richard Bloomfield 6-2 6-0.

Henman was relieved with his victory and admitted he was far from his best form.

He said: "I knew it was never going to be plain sailing and there were a few nervy points along the way.

"But it's these type of games that are always nice to come through.

"I didnt play my best but when I needed to, I came through."

Henman faces Dmitry Tursunov in the next round.

Bogdanovic, who came close to defeating Queen's champion Andy Roddick last week, said: "Today I played a lot better, the weather was a lot better but it was slow out there.