Henman's recovery lifts hopes of return to elite

Lee and Parmar await verdict on fitness of British No 1 as Davis Cup team end first day of qualifier against Thailand on even terms

We trust that when Tim Henman wakes up this morning he will be able to rotate his right shoulder without a trace of stiffness, and that he feels at least as fit as he did yesterday, and that is ready to display even more confidence in hitting his serve.

If so, Britain will still have a fighting chance of keeping their place in the 16-strong World Group of the Davis Cup next year by fending off Thailand in the qualifying round here at the National Indoor Arena. Otherwise, Roger Taylor and his team will be facing the treadmill of the Euro/African Zone.

The teams are level, 1-1, after a fraught opening day, and Taylor, Britain's captain, admitted last night that he could not expect Henman to play three best-of-five-sets matches in three days. "We saw in the Sweden tie how difficult it is for players to come through three matches, even if they are fully fit," Taylor said. "We'll have to look at the situation with Tim day by day."

This afternoon Henman is due to partner Miles Maclagan, who is deputising for the injured Greg Rusedski in the doubles. "We'll see how Tim comes up tomorrow," Taylor said, "and work accordingly from that. We have an option for the doubles, but, hopefully, we'll stick to the combination we've got."

Although Taylor would not elaborate, his alternatives are obvious: if Henman is given the day off, Maclagan could be paired with either Martin Lee, who is deputising for Rusedski in the singles, or Arvind Parmar, who has been keeping the bench warm, or Lee could join forces with Parmar.

Thailand's doubles team comprises Narathorn Srichaphan and Wittaya Samrej, who, at 38, is 10 years older than Henman and Maclagan. It would surprise few observers, however, if the visitors decided to partner Narathorn Srichaphan with his younger brother, Paradorn, Thailand's best-ever player, in a push towards their first appearance in the World Group. Henman is scheduled to play Paradorn Srichaphan in the first of the reverse singles tomorrow, with Lee due to meet Danai Udomchoke, the Thai No 2, in the final rubber.

Yesterday Henman recovered from a set down to defeat Udomchoke, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, and Lee arrived on court with his nerves a jangle but made an encouraging stand in the second set before falling to Paradorn Srichaphan, 6-0, 7-6, 6-2.

Henman, ranked No 5 in the world, made a tentative start against the 204th-ranked Udomchoke, whose skinny legs were less than flattered by his baggy shorts but none the less took him swiftly across the court. Henman was unable to find his timing or his range, or, crucially, his nerve. After almost three weeks without playing a match, and even longer without playing a match in which he could belt the ball and not feel pain in his shoulder, Henman looked extremely vulnerable.

Rarely serving above 100mph, Henman was in trouble from the opening game, in which he managed to save two break points, and was broken for 1-2, double-faulting on the first point of the game and the last. Udomchoke saved two break points at 5-2 and served out the set after 46 minutes.

"I give Danai credit for the way he played at the start of the match," Henman said, "but I wasn't serving well and mentally my shot selection was poor for a couple of sets. Then I felt that I picked up my level."

He did, breaking for 2-0 in the second set and taking a 3-0 lead in the third set before his opponent recovered a break for for 3-1. Shot by shot, Henman was becoming more aggressive, and Udomchoke showed signs of tiring. Henman dominated the fourth set, which was completed in 32 minutes. Henman was on the court for an hour and 55 minutes. Udomchoke admitted that his mission, short of causing a major upset, was to weaken Henman as much as possible. "My coach told me to hang in there for a long, long time, so he might have the injury again," he said.

Henman, encouraged by the way he put his game together after the first set, said that his problem has switched from his shoulder to his mind. "I played for three or four weeks when I had an impingement," he said. "Now I don't have the impingement, but mentally I'm waiting for it to happen. I feel fine now, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'm OK tomorrow," he said.

Did he feel a responsibility for the team's welfare? "I'm the person the team is looking to, and I'm desperately keen to try and win this tie. It means a lot if we can get through," he said.

Lee was virtually rooted to the spot during the opening set of his match against Srichaphan. He salvaged only five points and double-faulted five times, and the set was over after only 15 minutes. Lee decided that the rout could not continue. He served for the second set at 5-4, and held a break point at 5-5. He then saved a set point at 5-6, only to lose the tie-break, 7-2. Srichaphan controlled the third set, converting his third match point with an ace.

At least one banner in the 8,000 crowd spared a thought for Rusedski, the injured British No 2. "We know you are with us in spirit, Greg," was the message. Henman was asked if he felt Greg was with him in spirit. "Yes," Henman replied, "I'm sure Greg is just as keen as we are that we avoid relegation."