PACIFIC LIFE OPEN

March 20, 2004

Tim Henman

THE MODERATOR: Tim is going to attempt to win his second straight ATP Masters Series title, and the 12th title of his career, as well, tomorrow. Tim leads the head to head 6-1. Questions for Tim.

TIM HENMAN: I think so. He's one of these players that has certainly been capable of causing some upsets. You know, he's had a good run this week. And in some of the matches that I've seen him play, I felt that players had opportunities to put him away when they're up a set, you know, early on in the second, and they didn't do that. Secondly, when someone can be very erratic, it would be easy to go out there and just say, "I'm going to keep the ball in play and hope that he makes mistakes." But I don't think that's really the right way to play him. I felt I wanted to be very aggressive to his forehand and then try and open up his backhand. Likewise, on his second serve, keep coming in. You know, it does funny things. First couple of games I hit and came in. From then on, he never hit his first serve. He always just sort of slid it in. That was obviously a good sign for me because I felt that once we got into rallies I was, A, being more aggressive, and, B, was more consistent.

TIM HENMAN: I'd like to think it's somewhat relevant. But, as you say, I think with Roger's play overall this year, it's been so good, I think he'll certainly be confident. But, as you say, I feel like I've beaten him in the past on a number of occasions, I've beaten him this year, and I'm going to do my best to try and continue that run of form against him. It's still going to be one of the toughest tests right now. He's playing as well as anyone. I was going to say better than anyone, but I think I'm playing all right. Yeah, no, I'm looking forward to it. It's a great opportunity. If you would have said to me the first round in Paris I was going to make back-to-back Masters Series finals and hopefully win both...

TIM HENMAN: It's certainly been very good. I think just with the caliber and stature of players I beat in Paris, it was perhaps a little bit higher, but different conditions. It's easy for me to play that type of tennis indoors and be very, very consistent. Here, it's tougher play. It's obviously been hot. I mean, it's not windy, but there's a bit of a breeze. It's very bright. Sometimes it's difficult to pick the ball up. Again, you're not really too picky when you're going through to the finals.

TIM HENMAN: No, I don't. In some respects, I wish I had more understanding of why I've had that much success so that I could be, you know, very conscious of trying to maintain that. But having said that, I think it's very important that I just play my own game. I want to be aggressive, and that's what's been successful this week, what's been successful for a number of months. I'm going to try and play that type of tennis. On the other side, if you let Roger dictate with his sort of arsenal of shots, you're going to do a lot of running, it's going to be a pretty painful afternoon. I'm going to play my game and we'll see how it goes.

TIM HENMAN: Exactly. I've got a good record against him, but do I start as favorite? I don't think so. I think when you look at him, he's No. 1 in the world right now. I think that pretty much says it all. He's won the Australian Open this year, and he's certainly played better than anyone. I'm very conscious -- I'm going to go into the match relaxed, knowing that I'm playing well. I'm going to try and continue with the approach that's worked very well in my first five matches, you know, see what I can do tomorrow.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I mean, his standard of tennis since even before Wimbledon, yeah, he had won I think probably three other tournaments - he had won Munich, he won Dubai. I think, as he said it, I talk to him about different things, I remember him saying at one stage, he couldn't believe that so many people were questioning his abilities in slams. How old is he now? He's 22 or something? At the age of 21, he'd only played a handful of Slams really, and people were saying, "His performance wasn't good enough." He was saying it to himself, "Hang on a minute, I need a little bit of time." I don't think he was panicking quite as much as other people. As you say, he won Wimbledon. He was in the semis of the Masters Series in Canada. Played okay in New York. But since the end of last year, winning Vienna, winning the Masters Cup, his form speaks for itself. Obviously, his result and ranking make that pretty clear. As you say, I think it's important for me to be aware that it's going to be a tough match, and I don't think I should be putting any extra pressure on myself.

TIM HENMAN: I mean, there is -- a little bit. I think it's evident that the focus of attention for me and lots of others is Wimbledon. But, again, I don't think there are too many other similarities, unfortunately. At 21, I was just about to break into the Top 100. You know, it just goes to show how, you know, different our careers have been. But, you know, right now, I couldn't be more excited about my game. Irrelevant my age, how long it's taken me to work things out, I'm playing good tennis right now. My results are showing that. I'm keen to build on this for the long-term.

TIM HENMAN: It's happened quicker than I would have thought.

TIM HENMAN: I just felt, A, that I was healthy, most importantly, and, B, that indoors was going to be good conditions for me. You look back at when I last played indoors at that stage, I hadn't really played indoor tournaments for 18 months. I felt confident that I could have good results. Just at that stage in the summer hard court swing in the States, I kind of felt that the emphasis that I put on my serve had just got a little bit too technical. I felt like my serve was now -- I understood it better, but I had to get out there and be a lot more aggressive. That actually sort of started to take place around the Davis Cup. Sure, I had a tough match against Arazi, but the way that I was serving in that El Aynaoui match, I just knew that this was the right way for me to play. It certainly has, it's unfolded quicker than I thought. In a short period of time, I think Paul has had a big impact on my game. You know, there's no reason why if I can stay healthy. As I said after Paris, I felt that Paris shouldn't be the exception. It was some really great tennis, but I felt like, you know, it should become the norm to be able to play good quality tennis much more regularly. This has been a good example of that.

TIM HENMAN: Yes, slowly. I think there were times when I got, you know, way too analytical on my serve. I was standing up to the line with way too many thoughts. You know, I just got too technical on it. It was a struggle. I wasn't holding my serve on a regular basis. I wasn't standing up to the line with any confidence. It was at that stage that I just said, "I'm going to keep it very simple. My serve is good. I'm going to stand up to the line and be very aggressive on it." That was certainly the way that I used to serve. Now I think with a better motion, it's coming together.

TIM HENMAN: What makes you think he's on a percentage? None of my coaches have ever been on a percentage. Just means you've got to pay them a bigger salary, unfortunately. He's pleased. He sees the work we've been doing. You know, it's definitely improved my game. As we said, as I know, it's about doing this more and more so that you can be able to play at this level consistently.

TIM HENMAN: Let's hope I'm in his head because I think that would be an advantage for me. I think, you know, my game matches up again pretty well. I think he likes to have time to really use his shots and work the players around the court. But if I can be aggressive and not give him that time as I've done in the past, I've had some success with that. But again, I could do that tomorrow, be aggressive, play to a level, and Roger could counter out that because he's that good a player. You know, that's why we go out there to play, you know, to find out who's going to be able to produce the goods on the day.

TIM HENMAN: Who knows. Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't -- you know, I wouldn't say that either of those courts have been particularly quick. Again, this is another variation. The ball's bouncing a lot higher. I think it's probably a little bit quicker through the air. And those are the conditions that we've got to deal with. As I said, we'll find out, you know, who deals with them best tomorrow. But, you know, it's great. It's exciting to have that opportunity.

TIM HENMAN: No, probably not. I certainly have that option. If you were to look back over this tournament, I've played five matches, you know, what percentage have I served and volleyed? I'm pretty sure it's less than 50. I wouldn't say I'm an out-and-out serve-and-volleyer, but I know I've got that option. I think I'm using my options pretty well.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, a lot of negative thoughts, a lot of negative memories. It was a pretty short -- it was an early morning, that's for sure. I think we started at half past 9, and I was back in the locker room about 11. That was with a half-an-hour ceremony. No, it was a tough match. Hewitt's given me a lot of problems, obviously as my record indicates. But, no, tomorrow's a different match. I'm a much, much better player. You know, I feel that with the record I've got against Roger, hopefully I can continue that.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I do. The conditions I think are, you know, favorable. As people have said, I think most of the players have said, it's not really the quickest court. But I think I can use that to my advantage because if I'm coming in and taking the ball early, you know, it gives me time to actually get a good position at the net. As the ball flies through the air quite quickly, it's not always difficult to control the passing shots. With my athleticism, I think I can cover the net, frustrate some of my opponents. It has worked well here.

TIM HENMAN: You look at sort of the way he played. I think one of the things he hated most was a ball that was flying on him. He always strung his racquet so tight. I think he always had the feeling he couldn't string his racquet tight enough because he struggled to control the ball. I think he won this tournament twice and was in the final a couple of times.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, you know, it just goes to show you, even a great player like him, if he's not quite on his game, struggling a little bit, he's going to come up short. I don't think he had as much success as he had in other places.

TIM HENMAN: No, I think I'm playing better now. I think in the last -- you know, it's probably really been in the last, you know, five or six tournaments, I think just the way I'm playing, the style I'm playing, and how the level that I'm playing. It's probably been the best. You know, that bodes well. I've probably stated on a number of occasions over the years, I felt like I was going to play my best tennis later on than most. It's come about in slightly unusual circumstances, given my injury. But, no, it's definitely exciting for me. As I said, there's no reason why I can't keep playing like this, improve on this, get better and better over the next three or four years.

TIM HENMAN: I think so, yeah. I mean, it is amazing. The weather's been absolutely incredible. We were sitting, watching a bit of Agassi and Federer. I said to Paul at one stage, "Let's hope this goes to three." At 1:00, it's tough with the sun. The sun's right down the court.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah. 1:00, from one end is bad news, the sun's right where I want to throw the ball. At 2:00, I throw it left of the sun, so I'm pretty happy with the scheduling, as well (smiling).