Tim Henman (GBR)

FIRST WRITTEN August 2000

It only seems a few weeks ago when Henmania was at its peak at Wimbledon. But Tim's best surface is hardcourt which where the US Open will be played. Can he do well? 3 years ago Greg Rusedski reached the US final.

On his day Tim can beat anyone in the world but he has to do it more consistently. He has a new fitness trainer which should help him in the high temperatures of New York. But Tim has lost in 7 consecutive finals which may be playing at the back of his mind.

He is newly married to Lucy which should ease his washing load.

Tim did quite well in the first 3 rounds of the 2001 Australian Open. But he was comprehensively defeated by Pat Rafter in the 4th round.

Tim played well to win the 2001 Copenhagen Open defeating the reigning champion in the final.

There has been some speculation whether Tim should change his coach David Felgate. Experts such as John Mcenroe have said that perhaps Felgate has taken Tim as far as he can. Felgate retaliated by saying that he constantly speaks to other experts such as Billy Knight who is a 3-time winner of the British Hardcourt Championship. As well as a coach Felgate and Tim are close friends as well.

Earlier this year Tim and his coach David Felgate parted company. Tim had a bad run of form in America and had to do something about it. But he lost a friend as well as a coach.

Tim lost in the 3rd round of the 2001 French Open to Cacas. This was the 3rd year in a row that he had lost in the 3rd round at Roland Garros.

Tim has been looking for a new coach but no-one seems available. Bob Brett seemed to fit the bill but is unavailable.

I have been watching some of the French Open on British Eurosport. I found most of the action really boring.

I really enjoyed watching tennis in the 1970s. My favourites were Ilie Nastase, Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors. Perhaps the incredible success of Pete Sampras over past few years has lessened my enthusiasm.

When I watch a match I never know how long it will take to complete. I think that the points system should be revised. It would be nice to know if a match only lasted 2 hours. Nowadays I do not have the patience to sit through a whole match from start to finish.

UPDATED August 2001

Tim played all right at Queens. It is amazing how quickly he adapted to grass after the long clay court season in Europe.

Tim had a nice haircut to start Wimbledon. It was his first Wimbledon without the services of his coach David Felgate. This meant that he had to work out tactics and modify his own game on his own.

Tim sailed through the week at Wimbledon without any hassles. He was going to meet Pete Sampras in the quarterfinal stage. But Roger Federer of Switzerland beat Sampras to meet Tim.

Against Federer Tim played the big points really well. I think Tim won after 5 sets. This set up a semi-final match with Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia.

Goran won the first set. The second set consisted of service games, which resulted in a tiebreak. Goran had a few set points but could not convert them. Tim stole the second set. Goran then mentally cracked up. Tim stormed through the third set winning it 6-0.

Then the rain intervened washing out that day’s play. The following day Goran won the 4th set before the rains came again. Goran then took the final set in an epic match. I am sure that Tim would have won the match if it had not been for the rain interruptions.

As a tribute the hill on which spectators sit on during Wimbledon is to be christened ‘Henman Hill’.

Tim has appointed Larry Stefanki as his new coach. I had not heard of him before. Apparently he coached Marcello Rios of Chile to the number one spot a couple of years ago. He will definitely improve Tim’s second serve and modify the weaker parts of his game.

UPDATED September 2001

Well Tim got knocked out in the 3rd round of the 2001 US Open. His best friend Pete Sampras at least reached the final.

Malisse of Belgium beat Tim. David Felgate who coached Tim for a number of years coaches Malisse. Felgate knows Tim’s game inside out and could identify weaknesses to exploit. It was ironic that Tim sacked Felgate as his coach earlier this year.

I remember in the early 1980s that the only person to beat John McEnroe was his doubles partner Peter Fleming. So familiarity can breed contempt.

Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt won the Men’s Open aged 20. Tim must seem ancient by comparison. It will be interesting to see what improvements Tim’s new coach can bring to his game.
UPDATED January 2002

AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2002

Tim’s preparation for this tournament was good. He practised hard and was ready for 2 weeks of hard graft.

Tim coasted his way during the first 2 rounds with no major problems.

Tim played very well to win the 3rd round ‘Battle of Britain’ match against Greg Rusedski. Tim’s passing shots and lobs were excellent.

By this time Tim was the highest seed left in the tournament and was made the new favourite. This obviously put a lot of pressure on him

I saw part of the 4th round match with Jonas Bjorkman. Tim started really nervously and could not play anything near his best form.

After the press conference Tim flew straight home. It was interesting to see that Bjorkman stayed on in Australia to support his Swedish compatriot Thomas Johannson who eventually won the men’s singles.

I could hardly see the situation where Tim would stay on to support Greg Rusedski. Their relationship has been rather frosty recently.

I was simply not interested in this year’s tournament for some reason. I tried listening to some live commentary on Radio 5 Live in the early hours of the morning. I hardly saw any televised highlights. I relied on Teletext to keep updated.

Apparently Tim started playing tennis from an early age, as there was a tennis court in his parents’ back garden. But tennis in the UK is a middle class sport. Equipment and lessons are expensive.

Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena, said that Britain could produce a Grand Slam winner from the inner city areas. I think that he is right.

I find my enthusiasm waning about tennis. I am really only interested in the Wimbledon fortnight.

UPDATED June 2002

2ND ROUND FRENCH OPEN EXIT

Tim got through his first round match with no problems. He said that his clay court game had improved over the past few months.

But Tim got knocked out by Malisse, who also defeated him in last year’s US Open. The irony is that Tim’s former coach David Felgate coaches Malisse. Felgate knows Tim’s game inside out and therefore able to exploit any weaknesses.

I remember in the early 1980s when John McEnroe was unbeatable. The only person to regularly beat him was his doubles partner peter Fleming. Again Fleming knew McEnroe’s game inside out.

I have been so busy with the World Cup, test cricket and Big Brother that this year’s French Open just passed me by.

Apparently Serena Williams beat her sister Venus in the women’s final. Alberto Costa won the men’s final.

One piece of gossip I heard was that Jennifer Capriati is going out with ‘Friends’ actor Matthew Perry.

THAT TV ADVERTISEMENT

Tim is well known for taking his shirt off and throwing it into the crowd after each Wimbledon victory. Recently a washing powder advertisement has taken this a little further. In the advert Tim takes off all his clothes and throws them into the crowd leaving him naked.

Really there was no need for Tim to do this crude advert. Advertisers seem to think if the adverts contain sexy ladies, naked people or sexual innuendo the public is more likely to but the advertised product. Wrong!

UPDATED June 2002

QUEENS 2002

Tim reached the final with some good performances.

But he lost the final to Lleyton Hewitt who sported a new hairstyle. Tim did pretty well in the final but was just not good enough.

Hewitt produced his best tennis on the big points. Tim rushed the net when a break point down on his serve and Hewitt simply placed the ball between Tim and the sideline. That is the tiny difference between being a great and a very good player.

WIMBLEDON 2002

Tim had an easy match against a qualifier in the first round. He played the perfect match.

But toady in the second round Tim lost the first set to Australian qualifier Scott draper. But he did recover to win the next 3 sets.

Already Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi have been eliminated. So things look good for Tim. The ‘Henmania’ support for Tim is fantastic.

UPDATE

I saw most of Tim’s match with Wayne Ferreira yesterday. Ferreira is one of the best grass court players in the world. He has won some important Davis Cup matches for South Africa against GB.

The first set went to a tie-break, which Tim won. But Ferreira hit back to win the second set. The third set took over an hour and went to a tie-break. Ferreira got a 4-0 lead before the Umpire overruled a Ferreira winner, which was clearly in. Tim won the tie-break and easily won the fourth set 6-1.

The atmosphere on Henman Hill was amazing. I could not believe people would pay so much money just to see the matches on a giant TV screen.

The BBC TV commentary team is pretty impressive. John Mcenroe and Pat Cash are great summarisers. Ditto for Pam Shriver.

I am really enjoying this Wimbledon. I even bought some strawberries and cream from Tesco last week.

UPDATED July 2002

The past few days have been rain-affected. Tim’s match with the Brazilian Sa has taken 2 days to complete.

Unfortunately I was shopping in Tesco and missed the entire match. What with the World Cup, Big Brother and Wimbledon my entire routine has been disrupted.

Well Tim is in the semi-finals for the 4th time. Twice he lost to Sampras. Last year he lost to Goran Ivanisevic in an epic match. I just hope he goes and plays his best tennis. Often Tim has played brilliantly one match only to let things slip in the next. 4th time lucky perhaps?

UPDATE

Well Wimbledon is over for another year. Tim again failed in the semi-final. He played near his best but so did Lleyton Hewitt. Tim is 27 and still searching for his first Grand Slam Hewitt is 21 and this is his second Grand Slam in 2 years. There is quite a gulf of difference.

It was also nice that the likes of Sampras and Agassi were knocked out early on. The winning of 7 Wimbledon titles by Sampras over the past few years had certainly reduced my interest in tennis.

The women’s final between the 2 Williams’ sisters was good. Serena played fantastic power tennis. I do not know how anyone can match her in the years to come.

The next event to capture my interest will be the US Open at Flushing Meadows in a few weeks time.

UPDATED June 2003

NOSTALGIC MEMORIES

Wimbledon started this week. I have to admit that my interest in this tournament has waned over the years.

I was an avid tennis fan in the 1970s. It was great watching players such as Rod Laver, John Newcombe, Stan Smith and GB’s own Roger Taylor. Later on players such as Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe etc dominated proceedings.

In those days skill was more important than power. This was because wooden rackets were used. Now the racquets are made of graphite.

In those days the tiebreak began at 8-8 rather than at 6-6 today. I used to sit through a match from start to finish. Matches often lasted 3 hours.

My school exams always took place in the first week of Wimbledon. I remember in the mid 1970s when John Lloyd beat the powerful American Roscoe Tanner. I should have celebrated but to revise for the following day’s exam.

I have not watched an entire tennis match for about 5 years now. My attention span is much less than before. I also find the same problem watching films. I am always watching Teletext or channel hopping.

I find tennis very boring nowadays. This is more a reflection on me rather than on the sport. It is a shame that Anna Kournikova is out injured.

ANOTHER DOSE OF HENMANIA

The phenomenon of Henmania has been fantastic over the past years.

It is great to see the fans screaming their heads off for their hero. The fact that Tim always loses endears himself even more to his fans.

Tim has been out for some time with a shoulder injury. A few players such as Pat Rafter said that perhaps Tim has come back too soon from his injury. Tim is seeded 10th at this year’s Wimbledon.

With Lleyton Hewitt already knocked out of the tournament this could be the year for shock results.

MY ONLY VISIT

The only time I visited Wimbledon proper was in 1987. I took the tube straight from work to Southfields station on the District Line. Then I followed all the other fans and walked about 25 minutes to the tennis courts. After waiting 30 minutes for a ticket I was in.

The players I saw included Alexander Volkov, Gabriela Sabatini, Sylvia Hannika, Kathy Jordan and Anne Smith. It was strange being so near them.

I remember that day as Boris Becker and Amanda Grunfeld were knocked out of the singles.

It was very difficult to get a good view of the players. My height certainly helped me. Really you are better off watching the matches on TV.

Everything was so expensive. I bought a punnet of strawberries for GBP 2.50. There were only about 10 strawberries supplied. Champagne was sold at GBP 20 per bottle, which were marked up 100%. The match programme was also very expensive.

It was nice to have been once. But I doubt that I will go again.

UPDATED July 2003

WWW.TIMHENMAN.ORG

I decided to check out Tim’s website given the large amount of hype surrounding him at Wimbledon.

The website was littered with sponsors’ advertisements. This detracted from the site. The biography section was quite good. Tim was born in Oxford on 6th September 1974. He got married to Lucy on December 11th 1999. They have a daughter Rose. I would have liked more pictures of his wife.

You could even e-mail questions to Tim. But these were vetted and only a few replies were printed. The tournament schedule for Tim was also neatly laid out. Apparently Tim’s grandfather played at Wimbledon from 1948 to 1951.

Tim’s agents are IMG, based in London W4. The site would have been better without the sponsors’ adverts on every page. But this is a good site for tennis anoraks.

THE END OF ANOTHER TOURNAMENT

Well Tim got knocked out in the quarterfinals by Sebastian Grosjean. Grosjean simply had more flair than Tim did. All the commentators and summarisers said that Tim’s game of serve and volley is the perfect game for Wimbledon. Last year Lleyton Hewitt knocked out Tim by playing with more flair. Age is not on Tim’s side now. But it is great fun to see all the hype about a mere tennis player.

I saw bits of the women’s final between the Williams sisters. It was more an exhibition match than a Grand Slam final.

I saw very little of the men’s final between Roger Federer and Mark Phillipoussis. I spent most of the day watching ‘Party in the Park’ on Channel 5. Back in the 1970s I would have switched on the TV very early on the men’s finals day.

Jeremy Bates won the men’s over 35 tournament doubles. So there was a British winner at Wimbledon this year. I guess that my interest in tennis will again surface in 50 weeks.