AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 22, 2005

Tim Henman

THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

TIM HENMAN: No, no. I sort of, you know, miss-hit a couple of serves, which isn't ideal. Sometimes I get a bit of a twinge. But, no, nothing wrong. You know, I was a hundred percent out there. I think I heard Baltacha say she got her ass kicked yesterday, and unfortunately I fall into the same bracket.

TIM HENMAN: I think a lot of it has to do with my opponent. If you make unforced errors, you're obviously going to lose the point. But, you know, there were times when I was coming in on some, you know, really good balls, I was serving some serves in the right place, and he came up with the, you know, came up with the answers. I think, you know, in the other two matches I felt like I was getting a little bit more, you know, penetration through the court. You know, it felt like, whether it was a little bit cooler and I didn't really get, you know, enough weight on the shots and the way he moves and how early he was taking the ball, he, you know, hit some great shots. You know, I definitely didn't play my best, but I certainly wasn't allowed to play the way I would like to.

TIM HENMAN: Well, sometimes, as I said, you want to play better. I think, again, it's that fine line because you rally and try and wait for an opportunity, and he's the guy that's dictating, hitting the ball so hard and so early, and not making any unforced errors. So you realize, "Well, I can't play on the baseline, so I've got to take the ball earlier, look for my opportunities to get forward." That sometimes makes your margin for error slightly less. You start forcing, trying to go a little bit closer to the line. You know, you make a few mistakes. Again, I felt like on the serve, you know, I was really having to go for both first and second serves. And sometimes, you know, that didn't make a great deal of difference because he was returning so consistently. I felt like a lot of -- every return I was hitting low volleys and hitting half volleys. You know, it's not much fun to play against, but certainly you have to give him credit for that.

TIM HENMAN: It's not ideal to lose your serve in the first game. That was obviously the way I started. But you're not going to let that influence your feelings for the outcome of the match. You've got to keep fighting and keep trying to produce something a little bit better, and hopefully something can turn around. But, as I said, you know, his level never -- it never dropped, it never really gave me a look in, because I wasn't playing well enough.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I think in the other -- certainly in indoors in Paris and in Washington the conditions are, you know, much, much quicker. Even as well as he moves, you feel that you can create opportunities to put the ball away. But, you know, with his movement, it obviously being substantially slower than those two matches, it proved, I think, the difference.

TIM HENMAN: Yes.

TIM HENMAN: No, I think they're missed opportunities, absolutely. That, again, is always going to be crucial. I probably had in those two service games, I don't know exactly, 10, maybe 11 breakpoints, and I didn't take any of them. And he took, you know, probably his first three, which means he wins the first set and he's a double break up in the second. I think, you know, there's times when your opponent -- as I talked about, he played some good tennis, but I would look at those points and ask myself how I played them. He never once beat me when I was at the net. I never was able to get forward, and that's a disappointing aspect, along with losing the points. Sometimes, as I said, if you construct a point, get in, the guy hits the pass, then too good. But I never was able to create an opportunity to get forward.

TIM HENMAN: Absolutely, yeah, yeah.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it's frustrating. But, again, I think through experience you know that it's not a question of trying harder out there. I've got to try and play better. And I wasn't. I'll be the first to admit I wasn't able to do that.

TIM HENMAN: Again, sure, there's no argument, you know, the better player won by a margin. I can't deny that. But, you know, I've played, you know, many matches where I've played worse and won. You know, that was -- today, I didn't play my best. But his level was much, much better than mine. You know, the score line is evident. It doesn't lie there. As I said, I'm in the same bracket as Baltacha.

TIM HENMAN: I think, you know, he played better today than he has done. But, you know, I don't know his ranking, but his results, winning Moscow at the end of last year, he's a very, very good player. I don't think that we should take that away from him. I think these conditions suit his game well. He's very, very quick around the court. His movement is as good as any. That just forces you to try and play a little bit better and go for the lines. Certainly, it caused me to make more and more unforced errors.

TIM HENMAN: I'm not going to deny, this was definitely a bad day at the office. You know, I didn't play badly last year. I don't think I played the year before that. You know, sure, when you come into these types of tournaments and you're in the last 32 or the last 16, it's going to be highlighted if you're a little bit short. Again, I want to do better than the fourth round. I don't think that's good enough. But, you know, it hasn't happened for me this time. You know, I've talked about that in my Slams away from Wimbledon. My last two outside Wimbledon certainly did work for me. It's not going to deter me from coming back for a few more years to try and improve on that.

TIM HENMAN: Uhm, I think probably against, you know, maybe against Chela at the US Open.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, exactly, yeah.

TIM HENMAN: No, no, no, no. My sort of injuries and illnesses have been sort of well-documented. Again, I was able to talk about those. And there isn't -- there's nothing to talk about. You know, I was out there. I didn't play my best, but I certainly felt absolutely fine.

TIM HENMAN: I think, you know, there's been so much talk about it. I think the weather obviously plays a significant part in the conditions of the court. Today being cool, it obviously makes the ball seem heavier and there's less life in the court. When we've practiced and when we've played when it's been hot, I think the court is a good court. I think it's fair. I think when you have a day like today, then it certainly -- for me, it felt very, very slow. You know, I'm sure for Davydenko, he'll say things were absolutely perfect.

TIM HENMAN: Well, the movement's different, isn't it? That states the obvious. But the speed of the court I think was slow today. You know, it's the same for everyone. As I said, I can't -- I've got to try and sort of look at myself and see what was good and what wasn't. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good performance today.

TIM HENMAN: I think that does dictate a lot. I still think it is on the slow side. But, as I said, it's out of my control.

TIM HENMAN: I was certainly hoping for a few lapses. He is a guy that in the past, I've seen him play, and he can have those hot streaks, but he can suddenly make unforced errors and miss when you're not expecting it. You know, his level just seemed to be maintained, and that's not always the easiest thing in a five-set match. Basically we only played three, but he did that - did that very well.

TIM HENMAN: I think, you know, against Canas, it's going to be an interesting match. I just think with, you know, his weight of shot, it will be an interesting one. You know, if he gets through that and it stays in this type of weather, then I think he could. I wouldn't say he's going to win the tournament, but I'll be interested to see how he does.

TIM HENMAN: It's -- yeah, I think it's something that I've probably built up over the years. It's probably -- the reality is it's coming into a situation like this, you don't -- you know, I'm not the type of person that likes to give, you know, too much away. I suppose I get better and better at just, you know, shielding my sort of feelings. But, you know, it can never -- it can never -- I'll never be able to sort of hide the disappointment from within. But I probably don't portray it very well.

TIM HENMAN: Sure, sure. Yeah, I feel, you know, totally gutted really. My expectations were obviously for a lot more. But, you know, that hasn't materialized. So you have to sort of keep trying to learn from it. But it doesn't get any easier.

TIM HENMAN: It's a very thin silver lining, that is (smiling).