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Monday, January 11, 1999 Published at 07:52 GMT


Sport: Tennis

Tim suffers title Schut-out

Schuttler receives his first important piece of silverware...

Germany's Rainer Schuttler upset the odds in the Qatar Open final to deny top seed Tim Henman the fifth ATP Tour title of his career.


Ian Carter reports (BBC Radio 5 Live)
The world number 111 won his first major final 6-4 5-7 6-1 after only earning a place in the event in Doha via the qualifying competition.

"I can't believe it. When I came here I just hoped I would qualify for the main draw. I got through my opening matches and then just kept on winning," said Schuttler.

Henman looked impressive in previous rounds but his serve was not at its best and he was kept at full stretch by his opponent's powerful forehand groundstrokes.

The pair had met twice before with Schuttler winning in Split and Henman gaining revenge at the Battersea tournament in London.


[ image: ...while Henman has to settle for runner-up]
...while Henman has to settle for runner-up
Henman received a code violation warning in the second set for throwing his racket to the ground, but Schuttler's double fault in the 12th game enabled him to level the match.

The British number one dropped his serve in the opening game of the decider and was broken twice more as Schuttler wrapped up the match, ensuring he will move into the world's top 100.

"He's had a great week here and played really well. Obviously this is a disappointment for me but it has been good preparation before Australia," said Henman.





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