PARIS, May 28 (Xinhua) -- British veteran Tim Henman defeated Kenneth Carlsen of Denmark 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the second round of the French Open on Sunday.

    It is the eighth consecutive year that Henman survives the first round at Roland Garros.

    The 31-year-old Briton prevailed by keeping Carlsen on the run constantly with deep ground strokes and his usual array of volleys. He forced 42 errors from the Dane and won 32 of 41 points at the net.

    Racing to a 4-1 lead in the opening set, Henman appeared in command. He sealed the second set in 39 minutes before Carlsen eventually found his game late in the third, taking it with a late break of serve.

    Henman took control of the fourth set by breaking Carlsen in the third game thanks to some well-constructed points and a little luck.After forehand and volley winners, Henman hit a shot that Carlsen thought would be long -- he pumped his fist in celebration, only to watch the ball land on the back edge of the baseline.

    Henman hung tough to survive back-to-back shaky service games, including a break point at 4-3, to preserve the victory.

    Henman now awaits the winner of Dmitry Tursunov and Jiri Novak. He is 0-2 all-time against Tursunov, losing to the young Russian at the Australian Open this year and at Wimbledon a year ago. Novak has beaten him three straight times, but they have not met since 2004. Enditem