Henman to keep his style at French Open

Tim Henman is sticking with his serve and volley style as he seeks to improve his record at the French Open where he reached the semi-finals in 2004.

Tim Henman is sticking with his serve and volley style as he seeks to improve his record at the French Open where he reached the semi-finals in 2004.

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Afer three previous first-round exits in succession at Roland Garros, the 30-year-old Briton at last showed he had the game for both clay and grass.

Henman, also a US Open semi-finalist last year, told a news conference on Sunday: "Reaching the last four of a Grand Slam tournament, outside Wimbledon, is an outstanding achievement to me.

"I had the feeling that the Parisian public liked my style and I'm looking forward to repeat the same performances this year."

For his 10th appearance here, the Briton, four times a semi-finalist at Wimbledon, is eager to shine again.

"You have to believe in your own style," he said. "When you look at my statistics throughout the last season, you realise that I didn't overuse the service and volley.

"But it is true that I won many points at the net. This is the key to shine on the clay here. It's the reason why I'm certain that Roger Federer has great chances to win this tournament.

In the first round, Henman, seeded seven, takes on Argentine lucky loser Juan Pablo Brzezicki after Italian Potito Starace pulled out with a twisted ankle. Brzezicki is world-ranked 147.

"The only thing I know about him is that his name is tricky to write," Henman said. "Apart from that he is a total stranger to me."