WIMBLEDON

June 26, 2003

Tim Henman

MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Tim Henman.

TIM HENMAN: Thanks, Bud. Appreciate it. Nice pants.

TIM HENMAN: Good.

TIM HENMAN: I've had my moments over the past few years. But it never has been something I pay a great deal of attention to. As I said all along, say it every year, there's nothing I can do about that. And the only thing that I really can control is my own performance. I felt like today's performance was much improved.

TIM HENMAN: I don't know. Again, I think expectations are always going to be pretty high at this time of year. And with my previous record, you know, that's probably justified in areas. But, you know, this year is slightly different I do feel that, not having played as much as I would have liked. But as I said the last few weeks, the last few tournaments I've played, I felt my game has definitely started to come around. It was pretty slow progress to begin with my first few tournaments back. But, you know, days like today, when, you know, I'm feeling like I'm hitting the ball well, it can only be good for your confidence.

TIM HENMAN: Kept us waiting.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I'm aware of it. I think it's obviously hopefully not reflected in our desperation to try to win this tournament one day, that they have to make films about it (smiling). It will be interesting to see the outcome.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah.

TIM HENMAN: Well, I mean, there's sort of two points to the match, isn't it? Obviously, some great quality tennis. Obviously an incident in the third set. You know, I think Greg summed it up. You know, he said that he made a mistake, and he apologized for that. I don't think there's anything else he can do.

TIM HENMAN: Well, I mean, it was irrelevant today. Had no bearing on our match. But it was obviously a different scenario yesterday.

TIM HENMAN: He isn't going to be able to come back, as well?

TIM HENMAN: Again, I think in terms of the problem that I had, and he's maybe got, it's not the most serious thing. But you need to sort of knock it on the head and deal with it. The longer you play with it, the more difficult it becomes. And, you know, certainly I played with a sore shoulder for quite a few months at the end of last year, and that didn't help things. So I think, you know, he needs to get it sorted because it won't do his game any good. At this level, if you're not a hundred percent fit, you're not going to win anyway. Hopefully it won't be a lingering problem for him.

TIM HENMAN: No, I don't know. I don't pay a great deal of attention to it.

TIM HENMAN: I thought I hit the ball really well today. I think certainly his style of play actually helped me, that I quite enjoy playing left-handers. He was giving me a target some of the time and, you know, I was able to, you know, pick my spot and play with a little bit more instinct. You know, I think he saw the results that, you know, I was picking my spots well. You know, generally on my serve as well, I felt I had a better rhythm and felt I was serving pretty consistently.

TIM HENMAN: Yes, it's deliberate, and it's reflective of his style of play because, you know, his strengths are his serve and his ability around the net. If I let him get to the net first, then I'm probably in a negative position. You know, I came forward a lot more on my second serve today, and I felt in general I served well.

TIM HENMAN: I mean, Boris mentioned at Queen's, you know, perhaps I should think about chipping and charging a bit more. I didn't play particularly well against Grosjean. The last couple of games, I was a lot more aggressive. You know, I chipped and charged pretty well in my first round, I thought. Yes, I think I said to you guys in the first round, I got into a rut of staying back on my second serve, and it probably didn't help me a great deal in the match against Zib. But today it was better. I felt like my second serve was pretty strong, obviously coming in a lot more behind it. With my volleys, I think that's probably the right way to play.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it's about getting the balance right. I think last year at times I didn't get the balance right, and I was just trying to serve too consistently and I wasn't getting enough cheap points. In my first round, I served 15 or something aces, I think, and won a lot - I think 85% of my first serve points or something like that. You know, it's about getting the balance. My percentage was probably a bit too low in the first round. But, you know, overall, I think I'm pretty happy with the way I'm serving.

TIM HENMAN: I've only literally seen him play probably four or five games against Verkerk in the first round. So, you know, maybe the Beeb can help me out and give me a couple videos to watch.

TIM HENMAN: I answered that question after my first round.

TIM HENMAN: As I said, there's early stages of the talking between the tour and the Grand Slams. And I'm sure, you know, a lot of positive things, you know, will come out of that. It's been very much portrayed by you guys as a prize money issue, and that isn't the case. I think there's a lot more to it, that we want to try to make the game better for everyone. We want to look at, you know, the medical insurance, the pension plans, the promotion of the game.

TIM HENMAN: Business as usual (smiling). Again, I think the state of the British game is not particularly healthy at the moment. And that has been the case for quite a number of years. But I saw a little bit of David Felgate's interview, and, you know, I think he's very much said that this is where we're at, and he's got a belief and a direction that he's going to take. And he said, and I think it's important, that there aren't going to be any excuses. I really do believe that, you know, if there's one person that can have an impact after working with him so long, I think he's got as good a chance as any, because I know how sort of brutally honest he can be and how tough he'll be on some of the players. And I'm sure it will be a shock to them. But we've got to break out of the rut we're in. And, you know, it's been too long, with the standard as poor as it's been.

TIM HENMAN: No. Again, there's nothing -- I, you know, get blamed for the weather sometimes at this time of year (smiling). You know, I know what I want to do most is win my matches. You know, there are a lot of other things that are out of my control. I think where I'll have the biggest impact for British tennis is if I keep winning and hopefully win this tournament one day. That's a big ask, but that's as much as I can do. Now, I can't do everything. I've got to leave it to the other people. I'm sure that at some stage later on, I would, you know, like to get back involved and try and help the game. But this is not the right time at the moment.

TIM HENMAN: That's been the case, hasn't it, for the last six or seven years? I feel like I've been able to handle that pretty well. So, again, just got to carry on and keep doing my best.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah.

TIM HENMAN: I think we talked about, you know, perhaps my sort of expectations coming in, just having had a difficult start to the year. You know, perhaps becoming a dad kind of changes your perspective a little bit. But, again, it doesn't -- you know, in no way changes my determination or desire to succeed. You know, when I'm out on the court, I'm going to give everything I've got.

TIM HENMAN: I've never enjoyed the first round. I've always found that, in any tournament, a difficult one to come through. But certainly here I think, you know, you want to try and establish yourself in the tournament. But no question, the deeper you go into the event, the tougher your opponents become. You know, I think I've said before, no question the most difficult match I've ever played in my career was the Ivanisevic one because I think it was unique. I'd never experienced playing over three days, in such an important match. I look back at that match and I reflect on it a lot. You know, I ask myself whether I should have done anything differently. And the answer is no. You know, it was difficult. Wasn't much fun sleeping those nights, coming back at different stages of the match. But, again, you're put in a situation, you've got to deal with it as best you can. I felt like I did deal with it as best I can. But I came second on the three days.

TIM HENMAN: I try to take the positives out of that and learn from it and try and build from it. You know, at the time it's pretty difficult to take anything positive out of that scenario. But having said that, I just, you know, feel at this stage of the tournament, I've played better today, and certainly gives me something to go away and work with and try and build more and more momentum. You know, let's try to get to the semis again and give myself another shot of making the final.

TIM HENMAN: Am I going to get blamed for picking that out, as well? What can I do about that? Obviously, it's a good opportunity. Surely by seeing the defending champion going out in the first round, you just, as a professional, know you've got to be on your guard. Having said that, it is a good opportunity. I could have played Greg in the first round and Philippoussis in the second round. They were definitely players to avoid. You know, this guy obviously is hitting the ball well. He beat Verkerk in the first round, who was kind of a dark horse. You know, I'm looking forward to trying to end that run.

TIM HENMAN: I don't know. I don't tend to sort of think along those lines. But, again, I try and keep it as simple as possible. And when I say that, I'm stepping out on the court and I'm giving it my absolute all. And if it's not good enough at the end of the day, it's not good enough. And I think I've been honest enough to say that in the matches that I've lost here, you know, I've been beaten by better players on the day. When I look at my other results in Grand Slams, you know, there's definitely sort of question marks about my performances against Bjorkman in the Australian Open. I'm sure there's more, if I think about it. But at Wimbledon, you know, I don't believe that I can have too many complaints. But certainly I want to get back to the semis and have another crack at it.