Henman eases

the pain

TENNIS: Tim Henman may have been replaced as British No 1 by Andy Murray, but he found consolation in playing without pain as he defeated Spain's Feliciano Lopez in straight sets to reach the second round of the Dubai Men's Open. A loss of form and fitness has seen the former world No 4 slip behind Murray and Greg Rusedski in the world rankings, but Henman was feeling much more confident about his prospects after defeating Lopez 6-2 7-6 (8-6).

''The back felt fine and hopefully I was a bit more confident,'' said Henman, who only entered the tournament after Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic withdrew at the 11th hour.

''That has not always been the case, particularly when I have not been healthy.''

Henman showed few signs of challenging the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the Dubai title, profiting mainly from an erratic performance from Lopez.

After taking the first set with two breaks of serve, Henman wasted three break points in the second game of the second set. That seemed to inspire Lopez, who broke to take a 2-1 lead and would have pushed home his advantage even further but for a controversial line call in Henman's next service game.

But Lopez stuttered when serving for the second set, his double fault allowing Henman to level at 5-5.

Henman held his nerve in the following tie-break, taking the match on his fifth set point after recovering from 3-0 down.

Greg Rusedski was overwhelmed by a fit-again Andre Agassi as he crashed out at the first hurdle with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-0 defeat.

GOLF: Ryder Cup hopeful Nick Dougherty has saluted the work of his mind man as he returns to the scene of the finest moment of his short career. Mental coach Jamil Quireshi gave the Liverpudlian the belief he needed to go out and beat some of the best players in the game at last year's Singapore Masters.

It was the 23-year-old's first - and, to date, only - European Tour title, which he will defend next week.

He said: ''In Singapore, Jamil helped me the night before the final round. He was saying I was good enough to beat these guys."

RUGBY UNION: Gavin Henson has taken full responsibility for Wales' 31-5 RBS 6 Nations Championship defeat to Ireland after a performance which left him depressed and questioning his future in the game. Henson said on current form he does not deserve to be involved for Wales against Italy a week on Saturday.

Thrust into the action as a 20th-minute substitute for the injured Stephen Jones, Henson was forced to play the unfamiliar role of fly-half.

After a season wrecked by injury and suspension it was only Henson's fifth game since the Lions tour. ''I feel pretty depressed, suicidal,'' he said.

BASKETBALL: Newcastle Eagles trio, Fab Flournoy, Andrew Sullivan and Andrew Bridge, flew out to Australia with the England Commonwealth Games Basketball team yesterday. The side will play three pool games against Barbados, South Africa and New Zealand.

The Eagles will face Birmingham in their next home game on March 10. The England players return on March 28 in time to play Sheffield Sharks on March 30 at the Sheffield Arena, followed by a must-win home game against the Scottish Rocks on April 1.

The Eagles and Rocks share top spot in the British Basketball League after the former's surprisingly comfortable 105-75 success over the Westfield Sharks Sheffield on Sunday.

The Eagles nailed an early 11-0 run to lead 13-4 and after the Sharks had trimmed the lead back to 18-16 the Eagles scored the final eight points of the quarter to take control.

FOOTBALL: Hartlepool-born England international Lindsay Johnson helped Everton Ladies move up to second in the FA Premier League on Sunday when the Toffees beat Birmingham City 3-1. Everton are three points behind league leaders Arsenal.

FOOTBALL: Sir Clive Woodward claims he was asked to take a senior post with the Football Association following England's rugby World Cup triumph. Now employed as Southampton's director of football, Woodward claims he had been sounded out about becoming the FA's technical director.

SPORT ON TV:

SOCCER: Under-21 international friendlies, Wales v Northern Ireland - Sky Sports 1 1700; England v Norway - Sky Sports 1 1930. RUGBY LEAGUE: Varsity match, Oxford University v Cambridge University - Sky Sports 3 1930. GREYHOUNDS: From Walthamstow - Sky Sports 2 1930. TENNIS: Dubai Championships - British Eurosport 1000