And finally... (September 1, 2007)
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Today, I shall look back at the career of one of the world's most underrated tennis players. For a decade, Tim Henman carried the hopes of British tennis fans. Britain had not had a winner of Wimbledon since Fred Perry, in 1937. Henman was the first real hope since then, and how he enthralled the fans for a generation.
His serve and volley style was perfectly suited to grass at Wimbledon, and his net play became quickly the second best in the world (behind Sampras). He was different to all the others, especially late in his career, a touch player in a world of power hitting. Even now, he is probably one of the best net players in the world, with so few of the modern players playing his style of play. Serve and volley has become a dying art, one that Henman has so far been the last professional to exploit.
He rose through the professional ranks early, winning a bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. At Wimbledon in 1998 however, he made his biggest impact. It also showed what fans were about to see over his career. In the first round, he led Jiri Novak two sets to love, only to lose momentum, and need a final set. But Henman won it 6-2 to advance. He then beat Pat Rafter in the fourth round in 4 sets, and then Peter Korda in straight sets, to set up a meeting with Pete Sampras. In the first of their epic duals, Sampras won in four sets, on his way to winning the event.
In 1999, Henman was seeded 6. He coasted to Round 4, when he met veteran Jim Courier. Courier came through his last match 13-11 in the fifth set, and his match against Henman would be of similar length. The match swayed back and forth, until eventually Henman prevailed, 9-7 in the fifth set. It was one of the nerviest matches of Henman's early Wimbledon successes. Henman cruised into the Semis, where he again met up against Sampras. Henman made the better start, winning the opening set 6-3, but again collapsed and lost in 4. Sampras beat Agassi to be champion again.
Heman was seeded 8 in 2000, but this was a disappointment. He played tenth seed Mark Philippousis in Round Four, and it was another classic Henman match. In the previous round, Philippousis came through 20-18 in the fifth set, and was thrown in against Henman the following day. After being mauled 6-1 in the opening set though, it was Philippousis who started out on top. Henman then won the next two sets, and looked to be easing to victory over the Aussie. But he lost the next two sets 6-3 6-4, and Henman was out in the Fourth Round. Once again, Sampras became champion.
Seeded 6 again in 2001, Henman eased through the first three rounds. He played Todd Martin in Round Four, but again struggled. He trailed two sets to one, and hadn't broken the Martin serve. But then, in the final two sets, won 6-3 6-2 to take the match and advance to the Quarter Finals. He was due to meet Sampras there, but to the surprise of many, Sampras was struggling on Court Two. He was playing a 19 year old Roger Federer, on a court that traditionally is tough for the elite to play. So it proved, as Sampras struggled, and Federer won 7-5 in the fifth set. Henman however beat Federer, taking two tiebreakers to win in four sets. His Semi Final opponent was Goran Ivanisevic. He had caused much controversy at the start of the tournament, as officials at Wimbledon gave him the Wildcard, over a younger British player. Now, he was up against Henman. Henman started decently, but lost the first set 7-5. Henman then got into the match taking the second set tiebreaker, and winning the third set 6-0. Henman was coasting to victory. He was a break up in the fourth set, when it started to rain. The match was stopped, and Ivanisevic was saved. The following day, Ivanisevic was a different player. He broke back, and then took a tiebreaker to win the set. At the start of the fifth, it had again started raining. The whole day was washed out. On the third day of the match, the day the Final was scheduled for, Henman failed to find the form of the Friday, as Ivanisevic broke Henman early, and held serve all the way to record a 6-3 win, and advance to the Final. Ivanisevic went on to win an emotional tournament, squeaking over the line 9-7 in the final set. Like Henman, Ivanisevic always failed when he got to Sampras, and when Sampras wasn't there, Ivanisevic took advantage.
This shows the conclusion of that match. I don't like the US commentary much... But you have to love the British crowd. Cheering on Henman religiously (to support the opposition was almost akin to herecy), and then they cheer both players at the conclusion.
Henman was seeded a high of 4 in 2002. He coasted through the first week once again, but then Round Four proved another sticking point. Against Michel Kratochvil, Henman lost was two sets to one down, but faught out the match, and won 6-2 in the fifth to sneak through. Henman beat Andre Sa in the Quarter Finals easily, to reach the Semis for the third time, this time it was against Lleyton Hewitt. Sadly, Hewitt was in the form of his life, and was able to pass Henman all day long. He won in straight sets, 7-5 6-1 7-5. Hewitt went on to win the Championship.
Hopes again were high in 2003. Henman was seeded 10, and was coasting through the tournament, beating David Nalbandian in the Fourth Round, in a match that featured a streak of 8 consecutive breaks of serve. Henman played Sebasiten Grosjean in the Quarter Finals. Henman lost an early tiebreak, but won the second set well. But from then on, Grosjean was away, and won in four sets. The title went, for the first time, to Roger Federer.
2004 was another chance. A month earlier, Henman had reached the Semi Finals of the French Open, which was his least favourite suface. Also, he was seeded 5, and with the fourth seed pulling out, Britain expected Henman to have a chance. Henman came through the first week well, and in the Fourth Round beat Mark Philippousis to gain a sort of revenge for 2000. Henman faced Mario Ancic in the Quarter Finals, and many expected a Henman win. Henman played poorly aswell, and it was soon discovered that Ancic was actually decent on grass. Henman was beaten in straight sets, and with it hopes in Britain dwindled. Federer went on to be champion again.
Henman was seeded 6 in 2005, but his form was very disappointing. After beating Jarko Niemenen in five sets by the skin of his teeth, he faced Dmitiri Tursunov in Round Two. Henman was two sets to one up, but sadly lost the match 8-6 in the fifth. Federer won again.
Henman was unseeded in 2006, and his fall from grace was confirmed. He sneaked through in five sets against Robin Soderling, which set up a match against Federer. After a competitive first set, Henman was humbled, and lost 6-4 6-0 6-2. Federer won his fourth title.
Unseeded once more in 2007, Henman was drawn against Carlos Moya in the first round. In what would be a Wimbledon swansong of sorts, Henman was two sets to one down. After more than four hours however, he had fought back, and as darkness fell, it was 9-9 in the fifth set. The next day, Henman wound up a 13-11 victor. He was beaten by Feliciano Lopez in Round Two though, 6-1 in the fifth. But Henman was two sets down, and had fought back marvellously.
I had great memories come back to me when writing this. I remember as an 8 year old in 1998, watching Henman against Sampras when I got home on a Friday from school. I was disappointed, but thought he could win in future. I thought he was closing the gap to Sampras in 1999, in the same situation. I remember watching the 2000 Quarter Final too, thinking that he had to win it soon. I was playing in a Rounders match for my Primary School on the Friday of the Ivanisevic match. It tipped it down then too. When we got back to school, I asked how Henman was doing. I was told that "Put it this way. Tim didn't." The following day, the school had a fete, and I was involved again. Both that, and the Rounders match were a complete washout. I hadn't missed much of the tennis, though, and watched in disbelief as Henman lost. I remember in 2002, when he played Hewitt. I was in secondary school then, and we ventured into the Sixth Form Common Room (for 16-18 year olds, not really for 12 year olds) to see how Henman was doing. He was doing okay in the first set as I got on the bus. When I got home, I remember seeing him losing the second set. I kept my hopes up, but to no avail. I remember watching the Nalbandian match in 2003, but the match against Grosjean was lost whilst I was at school, I only saw the highlights. I still remained hopeful of a British win, but I lost that hope after hearing his loss to Ancic in 2004. It again happened whilst at school. Lately, I can only remember seeing him play Moya, and the fantastic match on the Monday evening that ended at 9-9. It finished whilst I was at school, but I was nonetheless delighted. Henman has given me many memories over the last decade, and has made watching Wimbledon entertaining.
Tim Henman announced his retirement before the 2007 US Open, so he will never win Wimbledon. However, Henman made sure he could bow out in the place that means most to him.
Britain cares about the Davis Cup. Not many other countires do, and have to field poor quality teams (or at least poorer quality than they could), but Britain always puts their best players out. They aren't very good, but the effort is there. Henman has been a stalwart of that team for his entire career, apart from a one year exile. But now, he will retire after Great Britain takes on Croatia, a match that could see them return to the World Group of 16 nations. Hopes are high, that a team involving the Murray brothers, one of which is a World Class Doubles player, the other is an up and coming Singles player, along with Henman at two, will give them a realistic shot of beating Croatia. The Croatians will have Ivan Ljubicic, Mario Ancic and Marin Cilic, as well possibly as Ivan Karlovic. Whilst Croatia are strongest on paper, Ljubicic hates grass. The others don't mind it - it is perhaps the best surface of Karlovic - but the game will be a fitting swansong to the career of Henman. He will have the chance to defeat Ancic at Wimbledon, something he couldn't do in 2004. If Henman and Murray win one of their matches, the doubles team should win, and send Britain into the World Group.
To those internationally that don't care about Davis Cup (tragically), then he will always be remembered as a disappointment. In a poll on ArmchairGM, 71% of people thought Henman should have won Wimbledon during his career. It should be remembered though, that in his era, he had to cope with Federer and Sampras, two of the best grass court players of all time, and in the one window there was available in between their dominance, he was beaten by the weather in 2001, and admittedly was outplayed by Hewitt in 2002. I think he did as well as he could with his ability. He was ranked as high as 4 in the world, which in the wilderness of tennis, certainly isn't bad. Nor is 6 career Grand Slam Semi Finals, 4 of which were at Wimbledon. I think he would have won it had it not rained against Ivanisevic.
Henman will however, be bowing out at Wimbledon. The place where he has inspired millions of British people over his career. He is such a reviered figure, that a hill outside of Centre Court that had a big screen attached to it has been coined "Henman Hill", which I think will be a fitting tribute to the best British tennis player since the War. I hope that Henman will inspire Britain to victory, just as Greg Rusedski did earlier in the year.
I can see it being 2-2, and coming down to the fifth match. It would feature Henman probably, against possibly Ancic. It would be a wonderful end to his career, to see him win that match to gain revenge, and also to send Britain into the World Group. That would be the fairytale ending. Going on the rest of his career, it will certainly be a match to remember.
As a bonus... for your entertainment, they even cheered for him the next day... You get this excitement when you don't have tiebreakers in the fifth set... Oh, and the cost of tickets to get in? £0! The noise was like this for three hours...
