Murray's better than I was at 20, says Henman

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The former British No 1 said: "Andy is streets ahead of me at that age. When I was 20, I had broken my ankle and I was ranked 146.

"The next five months I was rehabbing a broken leg, I went down to 270 and had to work my way back. And at the end of 1995, when I was 21, I had only just broken into the top 100.

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Best of British: Henman and Murray

"It's very difficult for people to have any sort of patience. It's even harder with Andy because he's improved so quickly and he's No 9 in the world. But what is absolutely fantastic is that he has had all of this experience and he's still not 21.

"He'd be the first to say it was a disappointing result in Melbourne, given the way he had been playing and the draw he had. But, fingers crossed, if he stays healthy, there are going to be a lot of other opportunities. Look back at some of the first-round results that Roger Federer had. He lost the first round of the French Open to Hicham Arazi, then the first round of Wimbledon to Mario Ancic.

"It's a bump in the road for Andy, nothing more than that. He's playing great tennis and he's going to get better."

Henman was speaking in his role as ambassador for the HSBC Road to Wimbledon competition for all under 14s in Britain.

The partnership with Wimbledon is natural for him, but it is likely to be one of his few tennis roles in 2008, such is his enjoyment of retirement.

He added: "I can't tell you how good it's been. I feel like I was a professional for 25 years. Now to have lost that is fantastic. I'm sure I'll hit some balls once in a while, but for the moment playing golf, being at home, going skiing this year, it's just a lot of fun. The only thing I miss is the sunshine."