British star Tim Henman
© AFP/File Pornchai Kittiwongsakul

TOKYO (AFP) - "I'm very pleased. I did hit the ball well and served well. I enjoyed all the conditions. The court is a little bit quicker than where I usually play on, but it suits my game really, really well," said the tenth seed.

Henman, 32, scored one of the first major breakthroughs of his career in Japan 12 years ago, coming through the first two rounds before falling to Pete Sampras.

His appearance Tuesday was his first in Tokyo since reaching the last eight in 1998 and he needed just 55 minutes to beat Dancevic and become the first man into the third round after a a first round bye

"I remember four years before that in 1994, which was the first time I qualified for the tour event," said Henman.

"I won two rounds and played Sampras on the centre court. So that was a big, big breakthrough for me. So 12 years later, it's fun to be back and playing well."

Then, Henman lost to Sampras 6-1, 6-2 but said he has no fear of the top seeds in Japan this week, including world No.1 Roger Federer.

"In the men's game, really anyone from one to 100 can beat anyone else," said Henman, who made the semi-finals of the Thailand Open last week.

"You are aware of the rankings, whether you are seeded or not, but once you step onto the court and play a match, it really doesn't mean anything.

"It's certainly a strong field and my matches are not getting easier, but I feel confident in my game, because I'm playing well and I do like these conditions.

"I still think I've got a good chance against the rest of the players."

Earlier, Thailand's Danai Udomchoke beat Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 to reach the second round while Satoshi Iwabuchi of Japan outclassed Chen Ti of Taiwan 6-2, 6-1.

Stefan Koubek of Austria downed Stevano Balvani of Italy 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, while Viktor Troicki of Serbia and Montenegro outplayed Fernando Vicente of Spain 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-2.

In the women's draw, Japan's Aiko Nakamura, Vera Dushevina of Russia and Jamea Jackson of the United States advanced to the second round.

©AFP