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NITTO ATP FINALS

November 15, 2019

Tim Henman

London, England, United Kingdom

THE MODERATOR: After our press conference yesterday with three ATP Cup captains, we have another announcement to make, probably some of you have heard, but Tim will join us as well at ATP Cup as the captain of the British team, as chosen by the No. 1 player, Andy Murray.

If you want to say something about this appointment, and then we'll open it up for questions.

TIM HENMAN: Thank you, Nicola. I'm really excited to be a part of it, and Andy asked me about a month ago. If I'm honest, it was not something that I had really given a great deal of thought at that stage.

Then when we did discuss it, I think there are lots of reasons why I accepted, and I think one of the reasons is Andy. I have had a great relationship with him for a long, long time.

The reality is he's not going to play forever, and when I think of the team competitions and if I were to be the Davis Cup captain, it's never something that's appealed to me really with the time commitment. But seeing this new event, the ATP Cup in Australia, I think when you look at the opportunity with the players, I think they've got 9 of the top 10 and 26 of the top 30, it's going to be very, very exciting.

I look at the British team with Evans and Norrie and Jamie and Joe, and I think it's a great group of players. When the draw came out for the British team to be in Sydney, it was something I was excited about. It's where I won my first title in White City in '97.

I'm pretty sure the sun is going to shine, so that's a lot better than here in the UK in January. I'm looking forward to it all.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

TIM HENMAN: The rookie at the back.

Q. Yeah, the rookie. You're saying you're very excited about this, being captain. It will be your first stint as a team captain for players of this caliber.
TIM HENMAN: It might be my last, as well (laughter).

Q. What sort of captain do you think you're going to make?
TIM HENMAN: What sort of captain am I going to make? For me, a lot of it will be about environment, making sure that, you know, that the players can prepare well and, you know, be out there and give themselves the best opportunity to play their best tennis. I think an environment where you're having fun and it's structured, it's organized. I think most of the guys are going to have their coaches, their own coaches there.

So, you know, bringing together a cohesive unit and communicating well, preparing well, and going out there and giving it your best shot.

I don't think this is about trying to reinvent the wheel. It's about, you know, getting there, preparing well, and enjoying the challenge because there is going to be some tough ones.

Q. Have you spoken to Davis Cup Team Captain Leon Smith about this role?
TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I have. You know, when we were sort of going through this process, I felt like I didn't know some of the players, you know, Neal Skupski, Joe Salisbury quite so well. I spent a bit of time with Cam Norrie, as well.

I was in Paris the weekend before the indoor tournament at Bercy, and Leon was there and I watched them in qualifying. Had a big dinner on the Saturday night.

You know, Leon is someone that I have known for a long, long time. He's done a fantastic job in Davis Cup.

You know, from my point of view, I'm very excited about the ATP Cup, but this isn't in any way a stepping stone for me moving into other things. I don't want to do that. I've got enough, other commitments with my family, with Wimbledon, the partners that I work with.

So that's again the appeal of this 10-day event.

Q. Nuts and bolts, what time, when are you flying over there? Are you going to have a camp before here or over there? How are you going to work it?
TIM HENMAN: They've got their own -- the guys are doing their training blocks. Some will be in Florida, some will be in London. I'll be certainly keeping an eye on what's going on there.

Then I would have thought I would be there by the 29th. 30th, 31st, 1st, 2nd, spend with the team, and then, you know, be ready to go on the 3rd, the first day. But that is all, you know, flexible.

Q. We know it's unique in that the leading player asks for the particular person they want as captain, so what's it going to be like for you when you see your contemporaries on the other side, people that you used to play against? That must also be an important give-back to the sport from players of your caliber and your era?
TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I think there are lots of different elements that I'm looking forward to. There will be a lot of young players. There will be players probably that I did compete against, and certainly a lot of captains that I played against.

You know, that is going to create, I think, a very special atmosphere. From my point of view, you know, over the last 10 years, I haven't really been to many other tournaments apart from Wimbledon and obviously been involved in the event there.

Now I guess with my family a little bit older, you know, I want to make sure that, you know, I'm in touch with the professional game, both men's and women's.

I have been to a few events this year. I was at the US Open for 15 days doing television, and I have enjoyed that. I would expect next year to be at a few more events.

I like that, because I'm passionate about the game. The ATP Cup is going to be very exciting. You know, with my role at Wimbledon, it's important to be up to speed with what's going on.

Q. Yesterday Roger, he said that he wished that when he was 16 he had the chance to play with the big stars. Do you think all these initiatives make a kind of heritage and future for the game, in general?
TIM HENMAN: The more times you can get the best players playing together, the better for the sport. You look at the schedule for the ATP Cup before the Australian Open, I think it's ideal.

With the collaboration with Tennis Australia, the Australian Open, you've got great players. You heard the numbers, 9 of the top 10, 26 of the top 30 playing in three great cities. It's a new event. It's going to be very interesting to see how it evolves.

But when you get the best players in the world together, I think it's exciting. It's going to be good for everybody. It's difficult to see the downside of that.

Q. Is this indicative of a greater commitment to the sport from your point of view? And also, who is going to be in charge, you or Andy?
TIM HENMAN: Two difficult questions (smiling). You know, I in essence don't have any commitment to the game. I'm involved at Wimbledon. I'm going to be the ATP Cup captain. But if I, for some reason, wanted to step away and do none of the above, then that's my prerogative. I don't think that's the case.

Yeah, I think in terms of, you know, being around tennis on the international stage a little bit more, that's what I'd like to do. So I have enjoyed the events that -- I was at Roland Garros this year, as well. I hadn't been there for a long time. I hadn't been to the US Open for 12 years.

So I think I will be around a few more tournaments. That's part of the excitement for ATP Cup.

You know, who's in charge? I'm the captain, but it's the players that are out on the court that are competing, and, you know, I want to create an environment that's going to give them the best opportunity to play their best tennis and hopefully win. You know, it's them that have to go out there and do the job on the court.

Q. Are you seeing the captaincy as a one-off opportunity for you? Or are you seeing it as kind of a stepping stone to maybe one day do Fed Cup, Davis Cup captaincy if the opportunity arises?
TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I think there is a certain amount of unknown for everybody. It's the first year of the event. It's the first time I have been a captain of any team.

So I think it will be better for me to make an assessment once the event has taken place, but if it were to go well, you know, I'd probably be inclined to do ATP Cup captain again if invited.

But as I said, I sit here now, I don't have any aspirations to be, you know, Davis Cup captain. It's in a new format now, but certainly before when, you know, the time commitment was going to be, you know, much more significant, it was never something that had really appealed to me.

But when I talk specifically about this event, I'm really, really looking forward to it. I think there are so many exciting aspects of it, and, you know, once the event has happened, then I'll be able to reflect and see what I want to do going forward.

Q. Why do you think Andy chose you over Greg Rusedski?
TIM HENMAN: I have known Andy a lot longer, and, yeah, probably have a better relationship with him. You know, it wasn't something I was necessarily expecting. But once, you know, Andy sent me a message and said, How about it, I definitely gave it some serious thought.

I think he's a significant reason why I accepted, because he's someone that I have had a great relationship for a long time. The impact that he's had on, you know, British tennis as well as world tennis has been enormous.

Having seen what he's gone through with the hip surgery and how well he's come back, I think how he's taken so many people by surprise and I think how much more he's still got to improve, I think that's what's exciting and was, as I said, a big part of why I accepted the captaincy.

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