Henman triumphs against Kuerten

Tim Henman showed a ruthless streak his critics claim he lacks as he defeated world No1 Gustavo Kuerten to join Greg Rusedski in the second round of the Masters Series tournament in Cincinnati.

Henman won 6-3, 6-4 against the three-times French Open champion, who is still struggling to regain full fitness after a hip operation.

Henman said: "When I had the chance, I tried to move him as much as possible because that is where he would struggle coming back from injury. I exploited his movement, so instead of playing up and down, I used the angles to get him around the court. I just tried to think of the positive things for me."

Henman, who lost to Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian in Toronto last week, now takes on Chile's Fernando Gonzalez in the next round. Rusedski plays the American Tommy Robredo.

Meanwhile, top seed Lleyton Hewitt considered forfeiting his first-round match in Cincinnati, but beat American Robbie Ginepri without dropping a game.

The Wimbledon champion then lashed out at the ATP for fining him a minimum of $20,000. "I wasn't going to walk on court. I don't see any point in walking on the court and not giving 100 per cent."

The ATP said Hewitt will be fined either $20,000 or half of his prize money from this tournament - whichever is larger - for refusing to do an interview beforehand.