Injured Henman out of Australian Open

LONDON, Jan 4 (Reuters) British number two Tim Henman is out of this month's Australian Open after aggravating a knee injury while practising before Christmas.

''I just tweaked the lower part of the hamstring tendon behind the (right) knee and it needs rest,'' Henman told the Times newspaper.

''I would have loved to have played in Australia, getting a bit of sun on my back, but it gives me a few more weeks to prepare for the year and I intend to hit the ground running in February.'' Henman has not played competitively since hurting his knee during a second-round defeat by home player Stanislas Wawrinka at the Swiss Indoors in Basel in October.

The 32-year-old Briton, now ranked 39th in the world, is not happy to be missing the first grand slam tournament of the year.

''It is a terrible disappointment,'' he said. ''But I have still only missed two of 47 grand slams so I haven't had a bad run.'' The Australian Open starts in Melbourne on January 15.

REUTERS PM HS0857