MADRID (AFP) - Britain's Tim Hemnan fears the onset of an energy crisis after crashing out of the 2.425-million-euro Madrid Masters with little left in the tank in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 loss to Ivan Ljubicic.
Henman, the beaten top seed, admitted Thursday that he feels as weak as he did at Roland Garros where he somehow battled through a virus to reach an unprecedented semi-final on clay.
The usually calm gentleman of the court blamed frustration with his physical form for an uncharacteristic late-match racket-toss as he went down to defeat in just under two hours.
"I unfortunately don't feel good physically again," said the 30-year-old, an expectant father for the second time. "After a couple of days here, I felt similar to Roland Garros.
"I had a blood test Wednesday night and am waiting to see what the results are. I take my physical condition for granted, I've always worked hard in that area."
The Briton was given the top seeding this week due to the absence of the world's first four top ranked players - Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Guillermo Coria and Lleyton Hewitt.
The bitter loss was the third in four meetings for Henman against Ljubicic, who improved to 33-21 on the season.
Henman and his 29th-ranked opponent got stuck into battle from the start, with neither man able to dent the other's defences.
The opening set stayed on serve into the tenth game, when Ljubicic, holding a 5-4 lead, got the first look at a break.
On the back of 17 unforced errors - 39 for the match - Henman was unable to ever raise his level.
"When you're when struggling for energy - it's not something I'm used to - it's easy to get frustrated," he said of his racket fling.
"From the waist up, I feel fine, but I don't have any energy. And playing indoors in these type of conditions is not that physically demanding."
The Briton, who said that he still plans to play next week in Basel, followed by Paris and hopefully the season-ending Masters Cup, explained that his reserves inexplicably ran out early against Ljubicic.
"After four or five games, I felt tired, I competed hard and gave it everything I had. It's frustrating to come into the tournament and start suffering.
"But I felt worse in Paris than now. And if I can make the semi-finals at the French Open, then I certainly intend to play in Basel."