TMS MONTE CARLO

April 22, 2004

Tim Henman

THE MODERATOR: If we can keep this as brief as possible, he's got his doubles match.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it was one of those occasions when, you know, to start off I was playing -- my service games were a real struggle. I felt like my, you know, rhythm was off and my ball toss was a bit inconsistent. I felt like he was returning a lot more consistently and taking the ball a bit earlier than I expected. To drop your serve four times in the first set is not kind of going to be great for your confidence, but I didn't really think there was any point in dwelling on that. I think it's something that, you know, I've learned over the years - it's not necessarily a question of trying harder, it's about just trying to find a way to be a bit more effective. If anything, I just put less pressure on my serve and tried to, you know, be a little bit better in other parts of my game. From the early part of the second set, then my rhythm and my serving in general was so much better, and that obviously is always going to help my game.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I think like I feel like I'm controlling the ball a little bit better. And, again, you know, I think, as I've talked about, you can sometimes fall into a trap of trying too hard. If anything, that's probably something that Massu does a little bit. I felt that he was, you know, almost putting himself under even more pressure, irrespective of the way I was playing. And my level certainly was getting better and better as the match went on. I still was clear in my mind with the most effective way to play, and it was a question of, you know, executing a bit better. Certainly the second and third set, I did that well.

TIM HENMAN: In the second set?

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I think ... I think I was saying that I was gonna put a skirt on if I lost my serve again. It obviously worked. I don't think I dropped my serve from then on. So it was the thought of seeing myself probably in the future in a skirt.

TIM HENMAN: I've had sort of more success here. I haven't really got a specific reason for that. I felt like I played some good tennis; the standard of tennis at the French has been pretty good. But this is, certainly in terms of results and progressing in the tournament, this is where I've had the most success on clay. You know, that happens sometimes at events. Some, you have a special feeling for, and that gives you confidence. Certainly, this is no different. But I think, you know, what's most important, my game in general has improved a lot.

TIM HENMAN: Absolutely, yeah. Well, I think it's -- Paris was a big turning point. And, you know, after I struggled in Basel the week before, you know, my attitude was affecting the way that I was playing because I was getting frustrated, and that's where I think I was wanting to win too badly, instead of just concentrating on my game. And certainly the way that I performed in Paris and, obviously, the outcome, the result, has changed my outlook on my demeanor on the court. And again, you know, I was playing, you know -- for a serve and volleyer, for a guy that's been serving pretty well, to lose your serve four times, it's going to be a shock to anyone's system. But there's two ways of dealing with it, isn't there - one, to get frustrated and annoyed with yourself, which is probably not going to help the outcome; whereas, you know, my attitude was kind of, "So what? I've lost the first set, but I'm gonna play better in the second set." I think just being able to deal with it in that fashion is a big positive for me.

TIM HENMAN: A little bit, yeah. I just felt that every time we, you know, stepped up to play a point, then my focus and my mind was purely on that. And, you know, I think that's where, you know, I can be a little bit -- I'm a bit better, that just because I can talk in between a game doesn't mean that I'm not going to concentrate when I come to the point. You play the length of matches that I've played, it's impossible to concentrate for the whole time. I guess a little bit like golf, you know. You spend five hours on a course, you're not going to concentrate for the whole time. But as long as you hit - for those guys - hit 63 good shots, they'll be happy.

TIM HENMAN: I can't remember. There was a lot of drivel going on (laughter).

TIM HENMAN: Oh, yeah, I can't remember. My Spanish is pretty...

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, they're not as bad as -- well, I know a few more than two.

TIM HENMAN: I can't remember. No, honestly, I can't remember exactly what that was.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, we were talking about something, I can't remember what it was. He gave me an answer, I think. Then I asked him if he could help me with my serve. He said he didn't really have the expertise. But then after we had that conversation, then I felt like I was serving a bit better, so...(laughter).

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, yeah.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, yeah (smiling). I think sometimes you ask the trainer to come on court and they run on expecting you to have an injury, and it's like you need a little bit of mental counselling (laughter).

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I don't know. It was all rubbish (laughter). Who knows what I was talking about...

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it's a dangerous game. I mean, if you do suddenly let it go over into the game and you start playing the wrong shots, that's when your concentration's poor. But, again, I just think the amount of time that I'm on the court, and I played three hours the first round, I played three sets in my second round, I'm back playing three sets, I've been guilty of wasting energy, trying to be too pumped up. I'm out there and I'm going to try 100 percent for every point. It's pretty basic. But, you know, if in between, I'm going to just relax and make sure that I'm fresh for the next point, then so be it.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I think, again, it's this matchup issue, isn't it. And the way that I play and the way that I've been playing is probably the way Hewitt would like me to play because I'm being aggressive and giving him a target. We've talked about it, I've practiced with him on a few occasions, and it's almost as if I were to play against him, I have to at times, you know, play almost the wrong way, the way that -- to try and be a little bit more patient. Because if you stay in rallies with Hewitt, it's not like he's hitting a huge number of winners. But, certainly, you come into the net a lot and give him a target, he'll hit those targets pretty regularly. So it will be fun to play him on clay and, you know, see how my game matches up. But, again, I think it's as my attitude was today - just play. I think you can overanalyze it sometimes. Get out there and see what happens.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, yeah (smiling).

TIM HENMAN: I played a few night matches there, and it's been pretty heavy and very slow. And, you know, there's no reason why I can't play well. I've been in the third round; lost in tight matches in the third round. I think it's a great tournament. I love going back to Rome. This year will be no different.