I won them yesterday [against Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman], but not today."The Frenchman forced the only break point of the first set in the opening game. Henman managed to take Golmard to deuce in each of the Frenchman's first three service games but was unable to produce the finishing touch.A Henman drive was deflected wide by the net cord on the first point of the tie-break, but Golmard then missed a forehand attempting a backhand for 3-1. Henman temporarily led, 3-2, thanks to the ninth of his 12 aces, but was then wrong-footed and netted an improvised shot behind his back. "When he beat me in Melbourne, I stayed back, but I was aggressive when I beat him in Tokyo, so I felt I had to be aggressive tonight It was down to a couple of points here and there.

"He's an underrated player," Henman said, "unorthodox, but effective." Henman, the No 3 seed, thought he had the lithe Frenchman's measure after beating him in straight sets in Tokyo last April. To make matters worse, Henman's defeat, 7-6, 7-5, was at the hands of Jerome Golmard, the French left- hander who ruined his start to last year. Golmard, who eliminated Henman in the first round of the 1997 Australian Open - 11-9 in the fifth set of the longest match in the tournament - was again in stubborn mode, and Henman duly gave him credit for raising his game way above a world ranking of No 61. "I think we were quite fortunate to escape more serious damage.". JUST WHEN the local expat population was getting to like the idea of Tim Henman coursing through the Dubai Duty Free Open, the British No 1's form dipped in the fourth round.

He won two of the opening four stages in his Mitsubishi while Sainz was second and Radstrom third.Sainz won the opening stage of the rally on a snowy, gravel surface, but the Finn responded by finishing in first position on stages two and three.Radstrom, competing in his home event which he won in 1994, hit a frozen tree stump on the third stage but recovered to set the second fastest time on the stage."We hit a frozen tree stump which damaged the car's cross- member," Radstrom said. "We've made a few minor adjustments at the service park to try to improve the high-speed handling but so far I've been quite cautious on the ice."Makinen is having a tough time staying ahead of Spain's Carlos Sainz with the gap between the two just 0.2sec.The Finn, who won the season-opener in Monte Carlo last month, used his Nordic knowledge to win two of the opening four stages of the rally, before Sainz closed the gap as the day progressed.Local driver Thomas Radstrom, in a Ford, is in third place 14.4sec adrift with Frenchman Didier Auriol in fourth position, 25.9sec behind.Makinen seized the lead at the halfway point of the opening leg. He had a new windscreen fitted in the service park after hitting a wooden snow guide on the third stage."I'm very happy with things so far," said McRae. McRae badly damaged his left rear wheel when his Ford Focus found a ditch on the sixth special stage. The Scot was severely hampered over the last few miles of the 13-mile long stage before managing to fit a spare at the end of the timed section.The problem lost him over a minute and although he still maintained fifth place overall he is now nearly two minutes behind the leader and world champion Tommi Makinen.That was the second mishap for McRae. COLIN McRAE'S hopes of victory in the Swedish Rally suffered a massive setback on yesterday's opening day.

After a season which never recovered from that defeat they have eight new players making their debuts today.It is perhaps expecting too much for their new line-up to gel immediately against opponents who will fight to keep one hand on the trophy they won against all expectations last May.The two surviving amateur sides face their moments of truth today, with Featherstone Lions taking on Halifax and Leigh Miners-Rangers, who won at Bramley in the last round, meeting Hull KR.There will be a handshake of Stanley-Livingstone proportions at The Stoop, where the opposing captains, London's Shaun Edwards and Doncaster's Garry Schofield, are two of the British game's true genuine giants.. That left their coach, Graham Murray, with only the problem of who plays at hooker. He has resolved that by starting with last year's incumbent, Terry Newton, with the new signing, Lee Jackson, on the bench.Barrie McDermott, who began only five games last season, gets the vote at prop and will be in direct opposition to his great mate, Terry O'Connor, in what could be, despite their friendship, an explosive collision.Leeds expect a crowd of over 20,000 for a tie which is not all-ticket and has been protected from the weather by having the under-soil heating turned on since Wednesday.The meeting today between Sheffield Eagles and Salford would be the highlight of most Cup draws. Salford are still simmering over the way the Eagles came back in last year's semi, but both sides have changed a lot since that day.Of the two, Salford's surgery has been the more drastic. Neither is an ideal solution and a contest between two closely matched sides could be tilted Leeds' way as a result.On top of that, there are a few cracks behind the scenes at Central Park - a worrying state of affairs at this stage of the season. Leeds will smell their chance.They also had good news yesterday when Richie Blackmore and Daryl Powell were both passed fit.