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Gasquet rolls past qualifier; Murray upsets Stepanek

WIMBLEDON, England -- Tim Henman's Wimbledon dreams ended in a toothless second-round defeat on Thursday -- the Briton's worst performance at his home Grand Slam in 10 years.

His lame 3-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 8-6 loss to obscure 152nd-ranked Russian Dmitry Tursunov was the first time since 1995 that he had fallen at the second hurdle.

Fourth seed Rafael Nadal also slipped to defeat, humbled in four sets by Luxembourg's Gilles Muller.

The manner of Henman's defeat to a man who had won just two matches at Wimbledon in his career before Thursday deflated a nation starved of a British men's champion for 69 years.

"I've certainly won my fair share of matches in that kind of environment and not being able to come off with the win is disappointing," said the world No. 9.

"You sit here and feel numb but as difficult as it is to accept, you have to give the guy credit," he said.

Henman, four times a semifinalist at the All England Club, was passionless and ineffectual on Centre Court. Approaching his 31st birthday, his best chances of winning the title he covets most must surely be over.

Rating his chances of winning his first Grand Slam title, Henman said: "I feel that if I'm going on the speed of the conditions, then I would definitely put the U.S. Open first. Australia and here are similar. But probably the U.S. Open is the quickest."

But while he tried to swallow the disappointment of losing, he refused to admit that his chances of triumphing at Wimbledon were completely over.

"I'll keep trying," he said. "You know, why not? I love what I do. I'm still pretty good at it."

Henman had to fight back from two sets down in his opening match to keep his Wimbledon bid alive.

Two days after that rather brittle performance, he once again made his army of fans run through a gamut of emotions before he eventually bowed out after 3 hours and 37 minutes.

Henman's downfall was his inability to convert the majority of the break-point opportunities presented to him.

While Henman squandered 22 of the 27 break points he earned, Tursunov left the Brit reeling with his percentage tennis and capitalized on six of his nine chances.

Playing a man plagued by back injuries, Henman made a promising start when he broke the Californian-based Muscovite in the opening game with a classic volley winner.

But he was soon undone by his failure to convert the majority of chances that fell his way.

Tursunov had beaten compatriot Marat Safin in his debut here last year and was eager to add Henman's name to his book of victims.

With the pressure mounting every second, Henman allowed the Russian to level the topsy-turvy match at two sets all.

Despite the crowd doing their level best to lift Henman, the sixth seed looked to be down and out when Tursunov served for the match at 5-4 in the deciding set.

But Henman held on as Tursunov turned into a bundle of nerves to produce consecutive forehand errors and waste match points.

However, he regained his focus to break again in the 13th game and showed Henman the exit with his 20th ace.

Easing the anguish of fans was an upset win by Andrew Murray, an 18-year-old Scotsman ranked 312th. The last Brit in the tournament, male or female, Murray beat No. 14-seeded Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

"I didn't really expect to win at all," Murray said. "He's a lot better than me.

"It is my first Wimbledon and I knew Tim had lost ... I wanted to keep the Brits going," he said.

But the celebrations are still on ice.

"I am in the third round. If I get in the second week then maybe I will start to celebrate," he said.

Asked how far he could go, Murray, who next faces former runner-up David Nalbandian, playfully stated he would go out in the next round, something he also said before playing Stepanek.

"I'll lose my next match ... Nalbandian is top 20, he's been to a Wimbledon final, I've won two matches at Queen's, two matches at Wimbledon and I'm only 18," he said.

Not long after Henman's loss and Murray's victory, a BBC announcer suggested that the grassy slope where fans picnic and watch matches on a giant screen be renamed, changing "Henman Hill" to "Murray Field."

"He doesn't get enough credit," said Murray, who watched Henman play before taking the court. "He had so much pressure on him every year, and he's done so well."

Muscular 19-year-old Spaniard Nadal looked a shadow of the player who marched to the French Open title earlier this month, losing his second-round match 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

After losing the opening set Nadal fought back to level, but he never looked at ease against an inspired Muller, who is appearing at his first Wimbledon.

Nadal surrendered his serve with a costly double fault at 3-4 in the third set, and a single break of serve in the fourth was enough for Muller to clinch the biggest win of his career.

"He played better than me," Nadal said. "I am playing good on grass. But [against] any player, when he serves good all match, it's difficult. And Muller served at a very good level all the time. It's not easy.

"When I improve my serve, I can win a lot of matches here," Nadal said. "Sometimes I'm a little bit nervous when I serve because I know if I don't win the game, I can lose the set. This is what happens on grass."

One of Nadal's many victims during his devastating 24-match clay-court winning streak was Muller, the 22-year-old managing just two games in a chastening defeat in Barcelona. But this time the cards were stacked in favor of the free-swinging if erratic Muller, and he seized his chance to give the fourth seed the runaround.

"It was easier to play him on grass than clay, that's for sure," said Muller. "He was hitting so much spin on his forehand, it was bouncing very high. I think maybe Nadal is never going to win Wimbledon."

Muller faces Richard Gasquet in the third round. The 19-year-old Frenchman continued his impressive Wimbledon debut with a 7-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-2 second-round victory over qualifier Gilles Elseneer of Belgium.

The Beziers-born slugger was loath to raise any false hopes of winning his first Grand Slam, however.

"I have to play another five matches," Gasquet said. "It's too difficult for me now."

Gasquet is in the same half of the draw as second seed Andy Roddick, who led Italian Daniele Bracciali 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (3) when their match was suspended until Friday because of darkness.

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