NASDAQ-100 OPEN

March 31, 2005

Tim Henman

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

TIM HENMAN: It was okay, but I think you're only allowed to play to a certain level because of the standard that he's playing so consistently. You know, there were parts where I was -- I felt pretty comfortable, but it only takes your level to drop for a point or two points and that can be a break of serve, and he, you know, just keeps rolling from there.

TIM HENMAN: Obviously, those are always going to be the crux of the match when you get an opportunity, and he hit a great second serve. I was kind of, from that end, I was looking for a backhand more than a forehand. But, you know, that's the nature of the way that he's played for a long, long time. That's why he's, you know, he's separated himself from everybody else.

TIM HENMAN: Well, I don't think so right now. I mean, he is playing -- he makes it look easy when it's not. The conditions here, when it's a little bit breezy and balls are pretty lively, it's not easy to play. But he's doing -- you can't necessarily say it's the basics, but every facet of his game is of such a high quality. You know, there's plenty of guys that serve bigger than him, but you look at the number of times that he actually gets broken; it's so few. You know, from the baseline, I think his movement is a factor that people don't really talk about so much. So difficult to get him out of position. Then even if you do, he still has the ability in his hand skills to then produce something. When he needs to volley, he's comfortable at the net. It is difficult to, obviously, try and break through. But I think that you just need to -- I would have liked to have had him play with a little bit of adversity today. You know, one breakpoint is not a lot, and he obviously dealt with that very, very well. But you feel like if you can, you know, if you can keep your nose in front and hold serve, then there will be a little bit of pressure. That would be my biggest complaint today.

TIM HENMAN: No, no, definitely not. That would be totally the wrong way to approach it.

TIM HENMAN: No, no, no. You've got to stick to what you do best. If you suddenly start trying to do something else, then that's going to be a sure thing to a losing strategy. You have to stick to what you do best. I know that -- I still know that my game can make him uncomfortable. But, you know, at 2-Love, 15-Love, I hit a great serve. Against a lot of players, I felt like I'm going to get a comfortable volley. He hits one straight back on my toes. At 15-All, I don't miss that backhand volley against probably anyone else. But you get that feeling that you need to go for a little bit more. All of a sudden, instead of perhaps being 40-Love, you're down 15-30. That's a big, big difference. I feel somewhat disappointed with the way I played today, but I think in the context of the way I played the last couple of weeks, it's been positive. I needed to get involved in these types of tournaments. I now need to, you know, keep building from there.

TIM HENMAN: I don't think it's sort of a mysterious thing. But, yeah, the way that he's able to, you know, generate so much racquethead speed so that his sort of rallying shot, therefore, a sort of no-risk shot for him, is actually, you know, offensive. He's able to be that aggressive, take the net out of play, give himself a lot of margin for error, but still you feel like you're a bit on the back foot a little bit. That's another facet of his game that, you know, is probably not seen by so many.

TIM HENMAN: I don't know, you know. On the court, on the course, on the pitch, I'm sure there have been people. But, you know, it's just the whole package, you know. He does seem to be very comfortable in this environment whether it, you know, is at tournaments playing matches or whether it's in the media or, you know, doing work with his sponsors or a charity or whatever. I think that helps him because it doesn't seem like he's distracted by too much. As you say, when you can be that level mentally and therefore just be clear in your mind of what you're trying to do on the court, which is the most important thing, I think that is a big factor in the way that he's able to play so consistently. Because, you know, he's mentally so sound now. It doesn't seem like a great deal flusters him. But, again, when you're playing to that level and you're in front a lot of the time, it's a lot easier.

TIM HENMAN: I mean, he shouldn't be, really. I mean, you think Roddick has got a much bigger second serve and I deal with that probably a little bit better. But I think it's more to do with his variety. Because, you know, his ball toss varies a little bit, but then it doesn't really mean that he's going to hit a specific serve. And so that's not always easy to read. But, you know, that's an area I think I could have done a little bit better. When I did get second serves, I wasn't really aable to get forward that much. But, again, you know, you're talking about someone of his caliber; you've got to give him credit for that.

TIM HENMAN: Monaco.

TIM HENMAN: No.

TIM HENMAN: No, no.

TIM HENMAN: Good question, yeah. I think a lot of people would be asking that same question, when he's only lost to Marat since the Olympics. I think there would be a lot of players who would be hoping for a victory against him.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it does. It definitely motivates me because, you know, he's obviously setting the benchmark. It's disappointing to lose, don't get me wrong. But, you know, I feel like I can obviously play a lot better. And the standard I'm playing is going to be good enough to beat a lot of people, but, again, it's about doing it on a more consistent basis. Because, you know, I felt that I can definitely play better. It's probably a five out of ten today in the whole match. But certainly if I can keep, you know, improving my game, I'm hopefully going to give myself more opportunities to test myself against him. But, again, you know, I think you have to understand that, you know, he's dominating everyone right now, so there's certainly no disgrace in losing to him.

TIM HENMAN: I think, again, it's the whole package. Roddick serves as well as anyone, but with his -- with Federer's capabilities, he gets a lot of those balls back. Very seldom does he get aced a great deal of time. So, therefore, once they get into these baseline rallies, you see Federer exploit anyone from the baseline. You look as well as someone like Agassi hits the ball, you know, he's able to sort of open them up and exploit the movement. You're going to need a lot of facets of your game to be working. You look at the match that he lost to Safin, it was an incredible match. Safin has got a big game and he needed to be at the pinnacle of his game to win that, and Federer still had matchpoint.

TIM HENMAN: Oh, there's no comparison. There was so much uncertainty. There had been very little work, constructive work, that had gone into Australia. You know, I was, you know, very motivated and slightly anxious coming into Indian Wells to get sort of stuck into the year. You know, I feel that that's -- I've been able to do that with these last two events. So, yeah, very much more positive and optimistic and, you know, almost to the stage of excited about the clay after the way that I played last year. You know, one of the big things that's always paid off for me is my expectations are probably a little bit lower on the clay. That's something that I will, you know, remember. I won't try and suddenly expect to be playing great tennis and having fantastic results off the bat. I'll need to keep working at my game. And, you know, I'll really enjoy that challenge because I've always enjoyed the clay and that helps when you've had better results. But I will definitely approach it in the same frame of mind.

TIM HENMAN: He's helped my tennis in a slightly different way, yep.

TIM HENMAN: I've just been a bit more decisive about my game, using the tools that I've got.

TIM HENMAN: Yep.