Tim Henman got his French Open challenge off to a winning start yesterday with a 6-1, 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 victory over German qualifier Tomas Behrend.

But the No 11 seed from Oxfordshire was working today to eradicate the errors which saw him make hard work of beating a man 120 places below him in the rankings.

He admitted he would need to improve to beat Dutchman Sjeng Schalken in the second round tomorrow.

Henman, however, played a minor part on a day Roland Garros reeled from the shock departures of Wimbledon champion Venus Williams and French favourite Amelie Mauresmo.

Williams was beaten 7-5, 7-5 by Austria's Barbara Schett, while Mauresmo went down 7-5, 7-5 to German Jana Kandarr.