TENNIS MASTERS CUP- HOUSTON

November 16, 2004

Tim Henman

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Tim, please.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I couldn't agree more with you. It's certainly the best I've played since probably New York and, you know, I felt there was some good quality tennis from both of us. Upon reflection, I've won a couple of tight ones against Andy and, you know, tonight was his turn. You know, I have no complaints about, you know, the way that I played. You know, so much more disciplined than I had been on each and every point. Losing is never fun, but when you play and compete as I did, and you come up a little short, you can't second-guess yourself. You say "too good" to Andy.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, that's it. It's, you know, those are important points. The one, the first one where I have an opportunity, I played it exactly the right way. If you're going to certainly -- if I want to play a point against Andy and choose the way it's played, I want him to beat me with his backhand. That's exactly the position I got to. You know, he hits the corner of the court with a passing shot and, you know, that's where you give him credit because he came up with a big shot under pressure, likewise on the second breakpoint. He hits the corner with his serve.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I think he did that. He knows that I want to establish myself at the net, and if he serves and volleys, then, you know, it's difficult to -- it's harder for me to do that because he's already at the net. You know, that was an area that he probably played a little bit differently. And, again, all credit to him. You know, it's not -- I don't think it's something that he feels totally comfortable doing but he's effective when you serve that well on both first and second serves. Makes life on the volley a little bit easier.

TIM HENMAN: It is. It's one of the beauties of this format. It is, it's unique for us that you can lose a match and you know that you're still very much in the event. I've got to make sure that I take the positives out of this match because I know how well I've been hitting the ball. I think I'm right in saying that I play Coria next, so that's a big match for both of us. But I do feel that my game's in good shape, and I'll be ready for that one on Thursday.

TIM HENMAN: I don't think it alleviates it but there's certainly things to look forward to in the short-term. When you lose in a regular tournament, you're done and you're moving on to next week. But, you know, we're all very much still involved. There's going to be a winner and loser of every match, and the first matches in each group. But, you know, it gives me another opportunity. You know, I knew that they were all going to be difficult matches. But I knew playing Andy in this environment, it's sort of like a home court for him, it was going to be difficult. I certainly don't have any complaints, as I said. So you move on from that and, you know, I'll be very ready for the challenge of Coria.

TIM HENMAN: It is, I think you're right, we have become accustomed to the Masters being indoors. You know, it's outdoors, and it has been last year. From that point of view, when you're going to play outdoors at this time of year in Texas, there's the possibility of being a rain delay. That's always going to be the case wherever you're playing outdoors. But, you know, I think they've done such a good job here. There was, I think, constructive criticism last year and, you know, I heard different things that, you know, could have been improved. And when you turn up and see what they've done, it's absolutely fantastic. It's all credit to the people that have been working so hard at the event, because it is, it's pretty special. There's plenty of opportunities to be spoiled; that's for sure.

TIM HENMAN: Absolutely. It's so much credit to them. Jim and Linda have obviously, you know, they're so passionate about it. They set themselves standards, certainly, because it was still a great event last year and everybody's come back, the ones that played in '03, they've come back in 2004. It's amazing what they've done. We're lucky to have people like that in tennis and we've got to make sure that we keep them, because they're rare and certainly what the game needs.

TIM HENMAN: Well, you know, in an ideal world, you'll love to have some sort of sliding roof. But, you know, that doesn't happen.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, but I don't think, when it's this humid, would it make that much difference? You know, the court, I think you stick a cover -- I don't know. I may be wrong. But I think when you get some water on it, you stick a cover on it, it's just going to sweat underneath. It's difficult when they've got the radar and they're checking the weather reports and it's totally clear and we're sitting out on the court and it's raining. It's frustrating for everyone. If we're playing on a clay court, I think we would have been fine, we would have played through it all. It takes the smallest amount of rain to make the lines really slippery. If they were told a cover would help, they would have one tomorrow, they're that sort of people.

TIM HENMAN: I think it can. I think it's adding another dimension, it's adding variation. He's always going to serve big, but if he's then coming to the net a little bit, then it just adds a little bit of uncertainty for the returner. And, you know, it's something that, you know, I think he'll probably continue to do more and more. He'll probably become more and more comfortable at it.

TIM HENMAN: No.

TIM HENMAN: I'd love to, yeah. Certainly would be a nice way to round off the year. It's, yeah, I would have expected to, I would have liked to have won an event throughout the year. But it doesn't detract from this being my best year, because I know the way that I've performed in the big tournaments, the Grand Slams, has been a big, big breakthrough. Irrespective of what happens at this event, it's very, very motivating for, you know, for the coming years.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, absolutely. It's a real privilege to be a part of an event like this because it is, the only one of qualifying is, you come on the court and it's sold out, there's a great atmosphere. You know, Andy's so popular here. It's great for everyone. And if you're not enjoying it, you know, an atmosphere like that, win or lose, then it's probably time to move on. But, sure, I would have loved to have won. It would have made it even sweeter. But it's still a great atmosphere to be a part of.

TIM HENMAN: (Smiling). We're going to have to have one more, Nick, after that. I didn't actually see any of his match today, but I heard that he's, you know, still struggling a little bit with his shoulder and wasn't serving full-out. So I've got to try and take advantage of that. He's still so, so quick and so solid from the baseline. When I played him in Roland Garros, you know, I was most effective when I was able to be aggressive on his serve and try and take his time away. But, you know, I do feel pleased about the way that I'm hitting the ball. I've got to keep going with that.