Wimbledon ChampionshipsFor the first time they gathered in numbers on the grassy apron of clear ground in Aorangi Park that overlooks the outside courts at Wimbledon and laid their mats. For those who failed to nose out a ticket for number one show court, the outdoor screen, provided giant faded pictures for the partisan fan's annual trip to purgatory and back.

Tim Henman is not a player for the weak hearted. He is not a player to be relied on to win matches in the foothills of a Grand Slam event. At times he goes missing on court only to drift back, gather himself and come out the far end intact.

Henman can be streaky, clinical, careless, brilliantly tactical and a daydreamer over the course of one set.

The lower ranked his opposition, it seems, the harder it is for him to live up to expectations. Yesterday was classic Henman as once again the 10th seed contrived to create a sticky time for himself against a player who failed to qualify for the main draw only to get in as a lucky loser when Spain's Alex Corretja decided grass was for cows and stayed in Barcelona.

Around 38,000 fans packed in yesterday and may of those then settled down to their packed lunches to rah-rah Henman in scorching sunshine as he took control of the match against Czech player Tomas Zib, released his grip in the third set, then fought back to win it in four sets 6-2, 7-6, 3-6, 6-1.

For Henman the satisfaction of the win was laced with relief and while he has served and volleyed his way to the semi-finals of Wimbledon four times in the last five years, the 28-year-old has not had a good season.

Having undergone surgery on his right shoulder last December he returned in February and failed to win more than two successive matches in any tournament until Queens two weeks ago, where he reached the semi- finals.

But yesterday's match also illustrated the current live issue of the relative depths of the men and women's games as the two tours continue to wrangle over prize money equality. Zib is ranked at 157 in the world and this is the first year that he has progressed from the qualifying event at a Grand Slam.

His only appearance on the main tour thus far was as a qualifier in Milan in the spring where he lost in the first round. The 27-year-old has been playing mainly on the Challenger Circuit, where he hasn't once won back-to-back matches in 2003. Combined with Lleyton Hewitt's extraordinary exit on Monday to 6ft 10in Ivo Karovic and Henman's flirtation with dropping more than one set, the demolition of opponents by Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati and Kim Clijsters has been quite a counter point.

So what they say, the women's game remains more attractive, a fact borne out by the marketing geniuses who know these things. It is not though, an issue with Henman.

"The first round is never easy and obviously seeing Hewitt's upset yesterday puts you on your guard," he said. "A couple of forehand volleys I missed and it (Hewitt) crossed my mind.

"He (Zib) doesn't exactly have a grass court record or a lot of experience in Grand Slams. But again it goes to emphasise the strength and depth of the men's game. Every one knows that when they step out on court it's not about ranking or reputations.

"People like yourselves expect the higher ranked player to always win but from playing and being in the locker room week in week out anyone, even in the top 200 or 250 can play. You know they come out to compete and compete hard."

A 6-2 first set and a second in a tie break, where he weathered three set points, suggested that the status quo would not be rocked too violently but typically Henman engineered a smooth transition from controlling the match to turning it into as dog fight in the third set.

Breaking Henman's serve in the second game and serving for 3-1, Zib immediately handed the advantage back, Henman breaking in the fifth game and serving for 3-3. But again he failed to nail down the set and allowed Zib break him again and take the set 6-3.

Three service breaks in the fourth set finally turned the match in Henman's favour, his final service game delivering three aces. But more questions than answers were left hanging out in Aorangi Park.

"I think the bottom line why I haven't progressed further in this tournament is I haven't been good enough. My task is to improve," he said.

"If you try your best, give 100 per cent, there's nothing more you can do. If people start wanting more, that's when you start banging your head against the wall."

Andre Agassi, not one for such dramatic solutions, hurdled his first opponent, Britain's Jamie Delgado, also in four sets but in a Centre Court match that was less fraught than that of Henman. The world number one, probably the fittest player in the tournament and at 33 the oldest in the draw, streaked to a 6-4, 6-0 lead before Delgado rebounded to nick the third set 7-5. Few watching thought it any more than a blip and so Agassi proved, finishing it 6-4.

It is the American's 13th appearance at Wimbledon and it is 11 years since he defeated Goran Ivanisevic over five sets for his first championship of eight Grand Slam wins.

"When I was young, I think I just enjoyed the winning and that was it," said Agassi. "Hated everything else, the losing, the travelling all that. At this stage of my career, win or lose I think I'm sort of connected to the battle out there on the court and the challenges inside myself."

And a philosopher too.