Henman took his hopes of playing in the prestigious event out of his own hands when he lost to Nicolas Escude in the final Masters Series qualifying event in Paris on Thursday.

And the British number one's season was ended once and for all when Carlos Moya beat Sebastien Grosjean later in the day.

Needing a decent run in the Paris Masters, 28-year-old Henman was beaten disappointingly 6-4 6-2 in round three by local favourite Escude.

Afterwards Henman said was still being severely hampered by a shoulder injury and said he may now miss next year's Australian Open in an attempt to cure the injury.

"Once this season is out I'm going to make sure I get it right," he said. "If that means missing Australia, I've just got to do that.

"It's tough enough when you're 100%fit. When you're not, you're in big trouble."

The Briton started the contest well, breaking his opponent in the second game for a 2-0 lead.

But neither player sufficiently made their mark early on, as four of the next six games went against serve.

In the end, though, it was Henman's serve which proved the weaker, as he recorded six double faults and allowed his rival to break and take the first set 6-4.

The tie became increasingly one-sided in the second set, as the French crowd were treated to some impressive tennis from their countryman.

And the British number one added: "It's pretty evident I'm a serve-and-volley player.

"On this type of surface, this type of (hard) court you've got to be able to go after your serve. I didn't feel I was able to do that."