Tim Henman showed how he has improved in the past year by overcoming a heavy cold, a spate of double faults, and the newest and youngest German hero to snatch a place in the second round of the Eurocard Open in Stuttgart.

Lacking consistency at almost every stage except his last three service games, Henman nevertheless beat Tommy Haas, last week's losing finalist in Lyon, by 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. It was an achievement requiring the discovery of survival instincts probably beyond him in the latter stages of 1996, when loss of form consigned him to several first round defeats.

Clearly possessing the talent to win, Haas was unable to convert more than two of his 11 break points. The 19-year-old also dissipated his momentum early in the third set with three successive forehand errors which helped Henman achieve an early break, and after that he clung more tenaciously to his renewed advantage.

"Do you say the glass is half empty or half full?" he said afterwards. "You could see I was not at my best but that means there is plenty of improvement to be made. I came through, which means I can build on it."

The building will need to be prompt, for Henman's next opponent is a resurgent Goran Ivanisevic, whose title in Vienna the week before last carried him above Greg Rusedski to number four in the world.

Two former Wimbledon champions, Richard Krajicek and Boris Becker will also meet today. Becker's 6-2, 6-4 victory over his compatriot Marc-Kevin Goellner was so convincing it was if the general had pulled rank on a soldier. It also brought a question as to how difficult it was to be the general manager of the Davis Cup team at the same time as a player, prompting the retort from Becker: "I am a player this week and therefore asked me about Goellner or Krajicek and not about my other profession."

Despite this, the question had its relevance. If Krajicek asks too much of Becker and Nicolas Kiefer beats Rusedski, we may see the first week since 1984 in which neither Becker nor Michael Stich is German number one.