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INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA (MEN)May 7, 2007Tim HenmanROME, ITALY THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. What about Henman on the clay? TIM HENMAN: Not in conditions like that. No, it's tough. I mean, it's -- I just feel it's very, very difficult for me to sort of have an impact when it's that heavy and that slow. I feel like I've got to play virtually every point perfectly. You know, sometimes I feel like I'm serving in the right spots and, you know, you don't even get first volleys. No doubt it's frustrating, but I really don't think there's anything fundamentally wrong with my game. It's frustrating when you're just playing in an environment where it's just getting harder to make an impact. You know, it's a very similar scenario to Monte-Carlo. I felt like I played some good tennis, but on those two indications the guys just played better. Q. You annoyed with the last two points of that first set? TIM HENMAN: Yeah. I mean, it's one of those scenarios where I think both balls are there to be hit, but the execution wasn't good on those two occasions. But I just feel that, you know, I'm going to have to take some risks and, you know, certainly weren't my best couple of forehands. But, you know, if I just push the ball back -- well, if I just stay in the rally with him I think that's certainly playing into his hands. So any opportunity I thing to be aggressive I've got to take it. That's the risk. And, you know, I've always known that my style of game is going to be, you know, relatively low margin of error. But that's the style I play. So I don't think there's any point in trying to, you know, adjust my game for the clay. But, yeah, there's no doubt that when it is that heavy and that slow I'm going to be up against it. Q. How are you feeling? How's the back? TIM HENMAN: It's been great. Yeah. After Monaco I was able to have a little bit of time just to let it settle down, because it didn't feel good then, and it's sort of picking up again. Physically I felt great. That's where it certainly isn't what I want to be doing at my age is putting in this type of effort the practice court and in the gym and having the results that I've had. But I still believe doing the right things and, you know, if I play the tennis I'm capable of there's no reason why I can't have better results. It's going to be dictated a little bit by the surface, and this is certainly been a struggle for me the last couple tournaments. Q. You've played here obviously when it's been dull, wet and cold. TIM HENMAN: Yeah. Q. Why was it -- is it slower this year? TIM HENMAN: It seems like, yeah. It definitely, yeah, it seems like it. I think the courts vary quite a bit. I practiced yesterday and I was thinking on the practice court, Yeah, it's quite lively. I was serving pretty big and you felt like the ball was going through the air. But, yeah, I think they added a lot more sort of clay this morning and the night before. And I think that court has always been on the slow side. But today it was warm. You know, if it had been wet and cold then, yeah, it would probably have made that even trickier. That's neither here nor there. It's the same for both of us. He generates so much power on his shots and he's got a lot of margin for error using a heavy ball. I do think, joking aside, I think he could give Federer some trouble. Q. He did well last year. TIM HENMAN: Yeah. He lost in three pretty close sets. I think that the one time that Roger can or has been a little bit vulnerable is in the first rounds, so it'll be interesting to see how he matches up. Q. Given the notoriousness of Hamburg's conditions, and you talked about cold and miserable conditions, it's likely to be that there. TIM HENMAN: Yeah. Q. Do you have any thoughts of sidestepping that? TIM HENMAN: I'm not in there. Q. You're not? TIM HENMAN: No. Q. So at the moment are you thinking -- TIM HENMAN: I'll see if it's -- yeah, there's definitely two sides to it. Maybe I'll just be better off having some time to, you know, try and get in good physical condition, good frame of mind, and just concentrate on Paris. Yeah, I mean, it's definitely a tough -- again, tough surface for Hamburg, tough conditions in even the best of times. When it's been hotter there it's still very, very heavy court conditions. So, yeah, I mean, if I wasn't in Hamburg, then I wouldn't lose too much sleep about it. Q. You mentioned about it being, I think you said, Harder to make an impact. TIM HENMAN: Uh-huh. Q. To what extent do you think it's getting harder and harder and harder to make an impact? TIM HENMAN: I mean, yeah, there's no doubt. I can't deny the fact that I haven't had a great deal of success lately. But if I felt like my game was in poor shape then, you know, then definitely it would be much more concerning. But, I've had Canas, Ferrero and now Almagro the last three matches on the tour. I had Davis Cup in the middle. They're going to be tough at the best of times. So, yeah, I just have to try and be patient, but also I have to you know battle it a little bit more. I could easily just say, well, This is not what I want to do and kind of throw in the towel. But I want to keep competing and work my way through it. If it doesn't happen on the clay, then I still feel coming onto the grass if I'm in good shape then that will give me a lot more opportunities, because I know that that will benefit my game a lot more. Q. Compared to the last time you slipped to this level couple years ago, do you feel as confident now about to reclaiming the position as you were then? TIM HENMAN: Yeah. I mean, again, if you look at the circumstances, missing the first, you know, two and a half months of the year, that definitely puts you on the back foot. I need to get more matches. You know, if that means playing Queen's and Nottingham, then that's what I'll do. Yeah, I just want to give myself a good opportunity of playing some tournaments and getting wins under my get belt and not having any setbacks physically. Then you're in a much better position to make judgments of where you feel your game is at. I think right now when you're having a struggle and playing in the most difficult conditions it's probably not the best time. Q. Playing Nottingham could be the missing link to your Wimbledon. TIM HENMAN: Yeah. I've tried that. I've lost the first rounds of Queens and Nottingham and still done all right in Wimbledon. Played just Queens and, you know, I've done lots of different scenarios. But right now I definitely want to, you know, play some matches and get more wins under my belt. Q. On just slightly different tack, Tim, you're obviously part of the brain trust that decided we wanted to play on grass against of Croatians. What was the gist of thinking behind that decision? TIM HENMAN: Yeah. I think when I looked at Ljubicic in Monte-Carlo and I said, So what surface are we going play on? And he just looked at me and says, Please not grass. So, yeah, I mean, it's certainly -- I think a lot of times in Davis Cup it's a lot my clear-cut and a lot more obvious. But I think a lot of the times we're quite happy to go indoors. But you look at the way the three of them serve and their results indoors, you know, I think we wanted to play in the element a little bit more. And, you know, do we necessarily want to go on a clay court? Probably not. I think grass is going to be a very good surface. It is a good surface for Andy and I think it's going to be even better for Andy in the future. It's been sort of pretty good to me. And Ljubicic doesn't really like it, so I think that was definitely the best option. Q. Have you set yourself goals at all this year? TIM HENMAN: Stay healthy really, which I've sort of failed for the first three months of the year. But that's the predicament as you get a bit older. Q. What do you think of Roehampton? Have you practiced there? TIM HENMAN: Yeah, a lot. Q. What you do you think of the facility? TIM HENMAN: It's fantastic. Yeah. It really is, I think, second to none. I can't off the top of my head name a better center where one would want to go and train. The facilities are first class. The indoor courts -- I haven't actually hit on the indoor courts yet, but they look fantastic. When you can see the pace of the court it's good You know, the gym facilities, the outdoor courts now. The clay courts need a little bit more time to bed down. But the six outdoor hard there and the accommodation and the restaurant and the food, it's very, very impressive. And you know, there's no excuses. End of FastScripts |
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