The emergence of Andy Murray has put a spring in the step of Tim Henman -- and the elder statesman of British tennis can't thank his young Scottish rival enough.

News photo Tim Henman returns a shot against Canada's Frank Dancevic in second-round action at the Japan Open at Tokyo's Ariake Colosseum on Tuesday. Henman won 6-2, 6-1. AP PHOTO

The 32-year-old Henman was in sprightly form during his 6-2, 6-1 thrashing of Frank Dancevic at the Japan Open on Tuesday and was quick to credit the arrival on the scene of Murray for his career renaissance.

"Andy's had a positive effect in lots of different areas. It's great to have another player share the spotlight," Henman said after his first match in Tokyo since playing in the 1998 tournament.

"It takes a bit of the pressure off and it's great that at the end of my career I can play with a little less expectation on me."

Henman arrived in Tokyo after a strong showing at the Bangkok Open, where he beat Murray before losing to Thailand's Paradorn Shrichaphan in the quarterfinals.

He can expect tougher challenges than the one world No. 88 Dancevic posed with world No. 1 Roger Federer and Murray lurking among a strong tournament field, but "Tiger Tim" feels confident he can still compete with the best.

"In the men's game, anyone from numbers 1 to 100 can beat anyone else," said Henman, who is seeded 10th at the tournament.

"You are aware of the rankings, whether you are seeded or not, but after you are on the court and playing a match, it really doesn't mean anything.

"I feel confident in my game, because I'm playing well, and I do like these conditions. The court is a little quicker than where I usually play on, but (it) suits my game really, really well."

Henman highlighted the age gap between himself and the teenager who has taken his crown as British No. 1 when he reminisced about his first appearance at the Japan Open in 1994 -- Murray was just 7 years old at the time.

"It was the first time I had qualified for the tour event. I won two rounds and then played (Pete) Sampras on the center court. So that was a big breakthrough for me," Henman said. "I'm glad to be back here and playing well."

A potential banana skin awaits Henman in the third round in Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro, who overpowered No. 7 seed Robby Ginepri 6-2, 6-2.

Meanwhile, the public's interest in the tournament will skyrocket on Wednesday when top seed Federer plays his first match, against qualifier Viktor Troicki.

No. 4 seed Murray takes on Czech veteran Jiri Novak, who won the title in 2004.

The lowly ranked Serbian surprised Spain's Fernando Vicente 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-2 at a sparsely populated Ariake Colosseum on Tuesday.

Austria's Stefan Koubek battled to victory against Italian Stefano Galvani 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 and set up a second-round clash with defending Japan Open champion Wesley Moodie of South Africa.

Satoshi Iwabuchi made short work of Taiwan's Chen Ti in a 6-2, 6-1 win in the first round.

In the women's draw, Aiko Nakamura downed Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round.

Aussie replay

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) The Australian Open will follow the U.S. Open and introduce an instant replay challenge system for disputed line calls.

The 2006 U.S. Open was the first Grand Slam tournament to introduce the video replay system, although the technology had been used at other ATP events.

The "Hawk-Eye" system will only be used on Rod Laver Arena -- the center court at Melbourne Park -- where two giant TV screens will be installed for players, officials and spectators to follow analysis of the disputed calls.

Australian Open spokesman John Lindsay said Tuesday organizers have yet to decide if they would limit the number of challenges -- the U.S. Open allowed two per set to review line calls -- or allow unlimited challenges.

Under the challenge system, a graphic rendering of the shot in question is played on the on-court video screen, with the ball's landing spot highlighted.

If the replay shows the original call was wrong, the player keeps that challenge.