Murray will face Henman
Tim Henman and Andy Murray will meet in anger on a tennis court for the first time tomorrow in round one of the Swiss Indoor Tournament in Basel.
Murray was given a wild card for the event while Henman is the sixth seed as well as a two times former champion. The match is Murray’s first since hurting a hamstring in a Challenge Tour event in Belgium the week after losing to Roger Federer in his first ATP final in Thailand.
Henman has been Britain’s top tennis player for years but Murray’s remarkable rise up the rankings this year is threatening his domestic dominance.
“We practised in London last week and we’ve also practised together out here, so we get on well and we know how each other plays,” said Henman. “I actually had a funny feeling that we would play each other this week, but when I mentioned it at dinner the other night everybody just laughed it off.”
Another British player, Alan Mackin, made the main draw after taking advantage of an injury to Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard withdrew with a knee injury, although that did not stop him from winning the Madrid Masters last weekend. Mackin will play Cypriot qualifier Marcos Baghdatis in the first round.