US OPEN

September 4, 2004

Tim Henman

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Tim.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, absolutely. I think in the first set, his quality of play was so good. I definitely was taken by surprise I think for the whole match how, you know, he did serve some double-faults, but, you know, how aggressive he was on his second serve. In the first set, his serving was so consistent from the baseline. He was dominating things. But I just -- I kind of said to myself at that stage, "If that's the way he's going to play and he can go that for three sets, you know, too good." But I felt like I would get some chances. And, you know, I was able to take some of them. I think, you know, in the conditions, it's the first time I've played at night for a while, and it was definitely playing quite a lot slower. I didn't do a great job of really keeping my rhythm on my serve. I felt that certainly against Golmard and Karlovic, I was serving pretty sort of fluently and getting a lot out of my sserve without so much effort. In conditions like that, you've got to be more disciplined to make sure that your routine is good and that you're picking your spots and not forcing it because I think if you force it, then you're not going to serve quite as well. You know, there were times that I struggled with that.

TIM HENMAN: It was okay. I think, again, playing at night, I definitely felt a little bit -- perhaps a little bit tighter than I did against Golmard. But my biggest problem at the end was when I felt when I was running around, you know, it wasn't too bad. When I sat down for the change of ends, that was when...

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I just sort of felt like -- and in the fifth, I got off to a great start, played two really good games to get up 2-Love. And then, you know, always serving after the change of ends, I felt that I was sort of stiff for the first two points. And I was down, you know, Love-15 and Love-30 on a number of occasions. I sort of decided then after - when was it - the 3-4 change of ends, that if I just sort of walked around, I didn't feel tired physically, so I didn't need to sort of save my legs, but then I just felt like I wouldn't be, you know, stiffening up so much for that first point, which is often so important.

TIM HENMAN: Hmm, yes, it will. Again, it's a good opportunity. I've talked, you know, at length at different times about my performances at Grand Slams outside of Wimbledon, and they haven't been satisfactory. And this is a good opportunity. You know, adding to the fact the way I felt the Sunday before the tournament, you know, it's a good sign how things have turned around. But, you know, it's going to be a tough match. Kiefer's -- are a couple of players he's played as well as anyone this summer, so I'm going to need to play well.

TIM HENMAN: There's always going to be distractions in New York. Sometimes you deal with it better than others. There were times when I got frustrated. You know, I'm not really helping myself. You've got to get on with it and knuckle down and concentrate on the job in hand. The majority of time I did that. I felt my discipline was much better in the fifth -- in the fourth and the fifth. You know, that was when it was going to be at its most important.

TIM HENMAN: Oh, probably not. But someone's got to take the brunt of my frustrations from time to time (smiling).

TIM HENMAN: I think, as I talked, there were some, you know, opportunities for both of us. And I felt the only time that I was struggling in my service games was when I wasn't disciplined with a plan on each point, whether I was going to serve and volley, I was going to serve down the middle, whatever it was. And sometimes when I'm not disciplined, that's when I gave him opportunities to dictate. But that was my -- that was just my purpose for the fifth, that I wanted to make sure that, you know, I was going to play the game on my terms, and if he produced the shots, then good luck to him. But I felt that -- I certainly felt after breaking him in the first game, it was my match for the taking.

TIM HENMAN: No. I'm actually getting paid by the hour.

TIM HENMAN: Myself and Sargsian decided that we're going to be paid by the hour, so we're all right. I think because of my attitude with my back not being great, it's sort of kept me fairly relaxed. There were times when I was getting frustrated. But, you know, I'm just trying to, you know, take advantage of this sort of unexpected opportunity because, you know, my expectations were not high the weekend before. And, you know, seven days later, it's feeling much more optimistic.

TIM HENMAN: I don't know. I mean, I'm playing well enough to beat him. And, again, there's certainly aspects, elements of my game that I do, you know, need to improve. We'll just have to see how -- you know, how things match up. I think playing Tabara, I don't think Kiefer's second serve is as big as Tabara's. You know, that's obviously an opportunity for me. Again, it's much more on a, you know, day-to-day basis. I played some good stuff tonight. I competed very, very hard. But I think I can play better. And that's what gives me confidence going into the next one.

TIM HENMAN: 1994, I was struggling with a bad elbow, and then I went to Asia for a couple of those challengers and broke my ankle. But I can't actually -- my birthday itself, I don't remember it. But I'll remember this one.

TIM HENMAN: Sure.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I think I've tried to express that, that these surfaces, I've had a lot of good results. You know, I've won tournaments, beaten a lot of the best players. With regards to performance in these two slams, you know, 16's doesn't really sort of sit quite right with me. You know, I think the first year when I lost to Edberg, you know, I think it was a pretty good tournament for me. I was on a steep learning curve at that stage. But to not have progressed past that is disappointing. But where I am now, it's a great opportunity.

TIM HENMAN: Again, when you look at -- what's Tabara's ranking?

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it just doesn't matter. You know, you're in the Round of 16. Everybody's very good. And, you know, Tabara, I thought his level was so high at times, the first set I was totally outplayed. And so, you know, you would imply that there are surprises because perhaps a lower ranked player beats a higher ranked player. But you look at Rochus beating Moya today. It really does boil down to who's going to play well on the day. If your level isn't quite right, irrespective of your ranking, you're going to lose.

TIM HENMAN: Who is that, Tabara?

TIM HENMAN: I mean, I saw the last four games of his match against Fish. His quality, you know, he should be ranked 40 if not higher, not 140. But he's obviously had some injuries. I think it won't be long before he moves back up pretty quickly.

TIM HENMAN: I can imagine.

TIM HENMAN: She has.

TIM HENMAN: I'll probably go and see her tomorrow.

TIM HENMAN: Jeepers. My honeymoon was pretty good.

TIM HENMAN: I'll answer the first part of that.

TIM HENMAN: I didn't hear that (smiling). We went on safari and then we went down to Cape Town. We were in a place called Singita if you're anywhere near the Kruger National Park, I recommend it. Is that enough?

TIM HENMAN: There's not that many hotels as such in the Kruger National Park. But it's a game reserve. It was great.