IF TIM HENMAN could bottle the first set of his first match of 2005 and call upon it whenever he needed a sprinkling of brilliance, there could be a vintage flourish to what is left of his career. Of course, it does not work like that, as he will probably find today when he crosses swords with the latest finest player in the world to sweep across his radar.

There will be those who pooh-pooh exhibition matches — after all, they do not register on the computer that determines which player is accorded which ranking, but the fact that six of the 2004 top ten have chosen the Kooyong Classic as their preparation for the Australian Open gives some indication of the quality on offer at the Lawn Tennis Club, which staged the grand-slam championship until it grew too big for the club ’s quaint confines.

What promoter would not give all the silver he could muster for such a field and now Roger Federer, the world No 1, plays Henman, who dropped a place to No 7 behind Guillermo Coria, of Argentina, in the first week of the new year through not defending the ranking points accrued for reaching the semi-finals in Doha last year. A round-robin match may be all that it is in reality, but imagine what an effect it could have on Henman should he win it.

Andy Roddick was playing Andre Agassi last night in similar circumstances and anyone who says that is going to be a knockabout between friends needs their brains tested. “We live and die each week on doing the right things and we will be playing mind games with ourselves and each other,” Roddick said, “but of course we want to focus on doing the right things and to win.”

It will be the same between Henman and Federer. Once upon a time, before some sort of magic was visited upon him, the Swiss used to worry that Henman was one player who could muddle with his mind and mix up his game to an extent that he felt especially vulnerable. That has changed, but Federer’s regard for Henman is as genuine as the man himself. In the midst of his parade through New York after his US Open triumph in September, Federer stopped to ask how critical I had been of Henman’s loss to him in the semi- finals. “He gave me my toughest match of the tournament by far,” Federer said. “Remember that. He is a great player.”

That was the word for Henman’s first 31 minutes against David Nalbandian. Apparently, Nalbandian had to be woken from a deep sleep in the locker-room a quarter of an hour before the match and 45 minutes later he was on the end of some eye-opening exhibition tennis. Henman may have been flexing his back muscles — that is a pain that may never go away — but he was unleashing all his best shots, serving with power and penetration, striking the ball cleanly when he had time and when he did not and being as solid as a rock beneath anything that Nalbandian tried to spin above his head.

It was asking a lot for such form to be sustained in a player’s first effort of a new campaign, especially in temperatures that approached 30C (86F). Henman stuttered in the second set, having to recover from break points down in two service games before the Argentinian broke him when he served for the match at 5-4. Then, inexplicably, Nalbandian tossed in three successive double faults and at the second time of asking, Henman did not flinch in securing a 6-1, 7-5 victory.

He then said that he should have listened more attentively when Paul Annacone, his coach, said that he should not take too long away from the sport during the holiday period if he wanted to come back at full steam. “Paul said I couldn’t really go two or three days without doing anything,” Henman said, “even if it means hitting for 20 minutes, jumping on a treadmill or a bike for ten. As much as I enjoyed two weeks doing nothing, it wasn’t so productive. The body doesn’t recover as quickly as it used to.”

With the greatest of respect to the talents who lost on the opening day here, Colin Stubs, the tournament director who was treated so shabbily when he lost the same job at the Australian Open, has the two stellar matches of meaning he wished for in Roddick v Agassi and Henman v Federer. In all probability, two of the four will appear in his final on Saturday. It is brewing nicely.

Jennifer Capriati has withdrawn from next week’s Australian Open because of an injury to her right shoulder. The American, champion at Melbourne Park in 2001 and 2002, had previously pulled out of this week’s Sydney International. The news is a blow to the Open’s organisers, who are already without Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters, last year’s champion and runner-up.