Oxfordshire tennis star Tim Henman is through to the third round of US Open after a comfortable 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Chilean qualifier Fernando Gonzalez.

The British No 1 from Weston-on-the-Green now plays former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, though Henman was probably still marvelling at the bizarre incident during his second round triumph when a walking stick was thrown on to court.

All the courts here are pretty distracting, said Henman. But that's the first time I've seen people throwing walking sticks onto the court.

It was a huge metal thing and it landed on a lady's shoulder. She was pretty lucky. If it had hit her on the head it would have been a different story.

Fellow Brit Greg Rusedski was facing a tricky match against Frenchman Cedric Pioline on Louis Armstrong Court in his bid to join Henman in the third round today. But Andre Agassi is out, dumped in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 by Frenchman Arnaud Clement.

However, his second-round humiliation was clearly secondary to the trauma in his private life.

Earlier this week, Agassi revealed his mother Elizabeth had been diagnosed a month ago with the same breast cancer which his younger sister Tammee has been battling against for more than a year.