Shoulder scan clears Henman for quick return

With the men's game urgently in need of a refreshing outlook, yesterday's news was encouraging: Tim Henman's shoulder injury is unlikely to keep the British No 1 off the tour for more than another week; Wayne Ferreira took a sideswipe at his comrade-in-arms Lleyton Hewitt, the potentially litigious world No 1; and a promising new teenager, Rafael Nadal, emerged here to enliven the scene.

Henman, who is at home babysitting his daughter, Rosie, while his wife, Lucy, resumes her television production duties at the Monte Carlo Open, was told that a shoulder scan had revealed nothing more than inflammation and slight wear and tear. He immediately accepted a wild card for the BMW Open in Munich a week next Monday.

Ferreira, leader of the newly formed International Men's Tennis Association, a pressure group strongly supported by Hewitt, held no brief for the Wimbledon champion's notice of intention to sue the ATP Tour for £1m after being fined for failing to give a television interview in Cincinnati last August. "I think both the ATP and Lleyton are in the wrong," Ferreira said. "I think it's a situation that could have been dealt with a lot better.

"I believe Lleyton had been asked to do the interview for a few days beforehand and declined to do it. He could have been a little bit easier to deal with and done it. It's terrible that we have to have lawsuits involving the ATP and a player. That definitely doesn't help anybody."

What did help yesterday, when a swirling wind played havoc with attempts to construct points on the clay courts, was the 16-year-old Nadal's display in advancing to the second round with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over the experienced Slovakian, Karol Kucera. Nadal, the nephew of Miguel Angel Nadal, Barcelona's Spanish international central defender, qualified for the main draw and next plays his compatriot Albert Costa, the French Open champion.

Already ranked No 109 in the world after success in smaller tournaments, Nadal is an energetic left-hander. He is 15 days older than Richard Gasquet, the French prospect, with whom he progressed through the junior ranks.

Nadal's mentor is Carlos Moya, the Spanish former world No 1. "I think he's the best 16-year-old player I have ever seen," said Moya, having also advanced to the second round, where he will play Ferreira. Moya added: "Gasquet plays like a veteran, like he's been on the tour for a long time. Nadal plays more like his age. He still has many things to improve, but I think in two years maximum he's going to be a top-10 player. To be honest, I think he has more potential than Gasquet."

James Blake, the 15th seed, is the only American left in the singles. The New Yorker beat Dominik Hrbaty, of Slovakia, in the first round, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.