TMS - THE ERICSSON OPEN

March 28, 2000

Tim Henman

ATP: Questions, please.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it was. I thought the first two sets were absolutely identical in that I think I outplayed him in the first set; then vice versa, I was totally outplayed in the second. You know, the run of games, I think it went to 1-Love, 1-All, then straight through to 6-1. But, yeah, then it was two easy sets. I think it was always going to boil down to a tight one. With the amount of chances I'd had, I think I would have been very disappointed to lose that. Having said that, I felt like the only poor game I played was once I broke to go up 3-1. Serving downwind, that was definitely the easy end. But having said that, you know, he then followed it up with a pretty terrible game to give me 4-2. Although I lost my serve at 4-2, I felt like I played a pretty good game. He hit a couple great passing shots. You know, once we got down to the tiebreaker, I wouldn't say I went into it with the utmost of confidence. But I wanted to make sure that this one I was very aggressive. Yeah, it was a very satisfying win to come through in those circumstances.

TIM HENMAN: It was. I think it was pretty clear for everybody to see. At such an important stage, it was a little bit unsettling. The next two points were important that I played tough points, had a good next point to come in on a good approach, then finish it off with a good volley. I was pretty pleased to get that game out of the way to get my nose in front at 5-4. Then again, I felt like I wanted to get a big lead in the tiebreaker. I started off well, but it wasn't ideal to be 3-All, then playing into the wind. But I played some really good points, none better than the last one.

TIM HENMAN: Yes and no. I think yesterday's wind probably was a little bit harder because it was swirling. It was always consistent, coming in one direction. Yeah, it normally makes it a little bit easier. Yeah, from one end you can barely touch the ball and it's going to the baseline; the other end you're hitting it as hard as you can to try to get it to the service line. It definitely takes some adjusting. You know, again, my game plan was to get forward as quickly as possible, to be aggressive. It paid off.

TIM HENMAN: I think that he hasn't actually played so many tournaments since he's been back. I definitely felt very good about the way I was moving. There were times when obviously I was trying to get forward as quickly as possible because that was my game plan. But certainly a couple of points where I stayed in as long as I could, I felt like my movement was as good as it's been. That's a good sign for me.

TIM HENMAN: Definitely. I couldn't have had any complaints. I had very good rhythm on my serve, especially when I was serving into the wind. Those are important games to try to hold onto. Again, as I had been against Zabaleta, I was covering the net well. When it's windy, you know, it's much harder to hit those passing shots close to the line. I felt like if they're not hitting close to the line, I have a good chance of cutting them off.

TIM HENMAN: I felt, yeah, in the beginning it was definitely hotter than it had been previous days. Again, with the wind, that helps to cool it down. I think as the match went on, it was probably getting a little bit cooler. But, again, with it being hot, it makes the balls a little bit quicker. That certainly favors me.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah. I think in some of the matches where I haven't played quite as well as I would have liked - Zabaleta in London springs to mind - my movement hasn't been as good as perhaps on other occasions. It's when I'm not moving quite as well, I get a little bit rushed on my shots. Sometimes my forehand can be a little bit late preparing. That's when unforced errors creep in. I think if I move well, get in position early, it gives you plenty of time to hit your shots that you want to go for.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it's going to be another tough one. I really feel like I've got nothing to lose in these circumstances. But it's important that I go out and continue with my game plan, put myself on the line and play the way I have been. If he's able to come up with the passing shots, then that's too good. I'll just try and make life difficult for him.

TIM HENMAN: That's his opinion, isn't it?

TIM HENMAN: It's difficult, isn't it? I think you would have said, you know, the roll he'd been on after Australia, he was definitely playing as well as we'd perhaps ever seen. But, yeah, he definitely came a little unstuck in Scottsdale and Indian Wells. He's definitely working back towards his best. So, yeah, it's great for me to put myself up against the best. He's No. 1 at the moment. He's No. 1 in the race. It's good to give myself a chance to play against the best. I've beaten him before. I don't see -- there's no reason why I can't beat him again.

TIM HENMAN: It's deceptive. I mean, he's not hopefully going to serve too many aces, but he does make a high percentage. He's capable of taking you out of the court on both sides. Again, yeah, he returns probably the best of anybody. He likes to dictate the play from the baseline. Again, it's tough for him to dictate play if I'm at the net and I'm coming in every opportunity. So that's definitely the game plan. I'm sure he's aware that that's the way I'm going to play. I feel like if I keep coming in, coming in behind some good approach shots, it's going to be difficult for him to make the passes.

TIM HENMAN: No idea.

TIM HENMAN: I think I definitely hadn't been coming in as much as I had been. I think that was more due to lack of opportunities. I definitely was being kept back. He was much more aggressive. That's when he's playing at his best, he's dictating the play. But, yeah, I wasn't going to worry about that too much. It was just important that I try to create some of those opportunities, and I definitely did as the match progressed.