Britain's Tim Henman knocked out fourth seed Sjeng Schalken of the
Netherlands 6-2 2-6 6-2 on Wednesday to book a place in the quarter-finals of
the indoor CA Trophy.
Playing in his first ATP tournament since losing in the first round of
the US Open in August, Henman stormed through the first set, using his trademark
chip and charge game to full effect against a stunned Schalken.
Schalken woke up in the second set and began to put pressure on Henman
on his serve. But Henman, a winner here three years ago, came back with a
vengeance in the third set and broke the Dutchman's serve twice to secure the
match.
"I'm really pleased with my overall performance -- Sjeng's a good
player so it's a good boost for my confidence and another match under my belt,"
Henman said.
"In the second set I was too aggressive and made too many unforced
errors, but I got the balance right in the third set where I was more patient
and served well," he added.
The unseeded Briton next plays either eighth seed Albert Costa or Jonas
Bjorkman in the last eight.
In first-round action, second seed Carlos Moya shrugged off the loss of
a tight second-set tie-break to overcome Chile's Fernando Gonzalez 6-4 6-7 6-1.
"He's a dangerous player, but my serve was working well and I was
mentally very focused," the Spaniard said.
A strong showing in Vienna is important if Moya wants to remain in
contention for one of the last three spots at the Masters Cup in Houston next
month.
The 27-year-old is seventh in the Champions Race, with the top eight
players qualifying for the season-ending tournament.
GOOD POSITION
"I'm in a good position on the way to Houston," said Moya, who lost in
last year's semis to Roger Federer.
The Spaniard, chasing his fourth title of the year but his first on a
surface other than clay, took control of the first set but was tested by
Gonzalez, a finalist last week indoors at Metz, in the second. The Chilean
appeared to lose his concentration in the third and Moya wrapped up the win.
Also in the first round Spanish eighth seed Albert Costa beat Armenian
Sargis Sargsian 6-4 6-4 while Austria's number one Stefan Koubek kept the home
crowd on the edge of their seats during his 6-2 4-6 7-6 win over Russia's
Nikolay Davydenko.
Finn Jarkko Niemenen joined Henman in the last eight, surviving a tight
6-2 6-7 6-3 win over Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela.
