Henman and company get to work

Great Britain's Davis Cup side have started preparing for their tie with Ecuador, which starts on Friday, after overcoming flight problems caused by the terrorism in America.

Tim Henman, who was forced to return to Britain and had to miss the Miami training camp, has now linked up with the team. Henman's plane was diverted to Bermuda and then he flew back to Britain to catch a flight to Ecuador.

Team captain Roger Taylor said: "Our preparations are going very well, even though there were problems with the flights.

"The first thing is getting used to the pace of the court and the climate. But we're delighted with the facilities at Club Nacional. None of us has been to Ecuador before, but the hotel and the set-up is fantastic and we are all in a positive frame of mind.

"This tie is so important for tennis in Great Britain and our one aim is to win and get back into the World Group."

Henman, who was part of the British team humbled by Ecuador at Wimbledon 14 months ago, said: "There has

been plenty of time to prepare for this, even allowing for the problems with the flights. It was tough to lose to Ecuador last time and now we are trying to reverse that.

"I feel good about things this year."

ANDRE AGASSI, the top seed, suffered a shock defeat in the first round of the Shanghai Open today, losing 7-6, 7-5 to unseeded Georgian Irakli Labadze.

Agassi, playing for the first time since his defeat by Pete Sampras in the US Open quarter-finals, suffered against a 20-year-old ranked 101 in the world.

MONICA SELES today became the latest player to withdraw from the Princess Cup in the wake of last week's terrorism. Seles joins Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati in pulling out of the Tokyo event, which started today.