TELECOM ITALIA MASTERS

May 5, 2003

Tim Henman

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, no, there's no question he's playing very, very well. I have to give him credit for the way he played. But, still, it doesn't hide my disappointment with the way I played out there. You know, I think certainly on any surface, but as hard as it is on clay, you can't be as erratic as I was. I think playing someone of his style, I had to try and be aggressive, but I wouldn't say that I was finding the balance particularly well.

TIM HENMAN: Only (smiling)? Rome is a long way from Buenos Aires.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, look at the players they have. They've got so many good players coming through. Their standard is getting better and better. I'm sure everybody here would wish that that was the same, you know, in our country. But it hasn't been the case for a long time.

TIM HENMAN: Sure.

TIM HENMAN: It certainly is difficult, but I'm not, you know, I'm certainly not hiding behind my shoulder. I'm really happy with the way it feels, and now it's a question of getting the results on the court. These three weeks for me last year this time weren't particularly successful, and I was probably playing as well as I ever played. So I'm going to keep working very, very hard in these next few weeks to use it as a stepping stone because I know that the work that I've put in is certainly not paying off at the moment, but it will in the future.

TIM HENMAN: I was looking for energy at 3-1 in the first set. I was absolutely exhausted. I've got no explanation why. I don't know whether I'd been, you know, perhaps practicing a little bit too much, but 3-1 in the first set, I felt done.

TIM HENMAN: No, it's beautiful out there; it's as simple as that. You know, the heat and the preparation that I've had... But that's certainly not a great feeling to have when you're playing a guy who's moving as well as he does and not making many mistakes. But as I said, you know, these next few weeks, you know, won't be easy, but I'll keep working hard because I think it will pay off in the long run. That's the way that I've approached the clay court season in the past, and my results have improved. There's no question it's a struggle at the moment, but, you know, you've seen other players that are coming back from injury, and it does take time. And I've talked about being patient. So there's no point in -- it's not going to achieve anything if I start getting frustrated now. I've been hitting the ball better and better in practice. It's obviously not showing on the match court yet.

TIM HENMAN: I think sometimes if there's added tension, it's not going to help you. But, again, there's definitely been different, you know, different times of the year when things come easy and when things don't come easy. I'll be the first to admit that it's a struggle. But, again, I think if that is the problem, then you've got to try and find a way to get out of that. Most of the people that I speak to think it's a question of putting in the hard work and working on the things that you believe in. And, as I said, I definitely don't doubt my ability and, you know, (inaudible) improve sooner rather than later.

TIM HENMAN: I'm not playing my best. Certainly, playing someone of Coria's capabilities and abilities, he's making life difficult for me. He's probably, you know, a Top 5, Top 10 clay court player in the world right now. So I'm certainly -- I appreciate it wasn't the easiest match. But on the clay, I've obviously played much better in Monte-Carlo than I am doing now. But, you know, that's sport I think. You can't always expect to play your best every day. But, you know, I've got to start improving my results soon.

TIM HENMAN: I mean, sometimes in terms of time, I'm probably practicing a lot more than the match court, with the amount of time I spend in the gym doing the running and a lot of shoulder work. So that probably adds up to four and a half, five hours most days. So, you know, matches... You know, 6-2, 6-1 is not particularly long, is it?

TIM HENMAN: I think you're probably worrying a bit more than I am. Given the choice, I'd like to be seeded. You know, you have the benefit of avoiding some of the other, you know, top players in the early rounds. You look at a tournament like this when there's only 16 seeds, and you do see such good matchups early on. Again, you just have to wait and see. There's always a bit of an unknown quantity because you're not quite sure who's going to be playing. But, yeah, I would prefer to be seeded. But if I'm not, then you've got to get on with it; nothing you can do about it.

TIM HENMAN: Good question. I don't know, really. I think that's the honest answer. You know, when I look back at the last six months or since I started to have problems before the US Open, you know, there's no question it's been a frustrating time. But it's way better, it's a large percentage better to be out there playing matches and not having any problems and feeling 100 percent healthy. That's kind of the positive side. But then moving on to the grass and on to Wimbledon, you know, I think in a lot of people's minds, you know, unless I make the final, that's probably a failure. So, you know, I want to do better than I've ever done before there, so the next step is to get into the final. But, you know, whether that happens this year, we'll just have to wait and see. I think on grass, you know, I have a lot of confidence. And if I can get some matches at Queens and/or maybe Nottingham, then I'll certainly look forward to it.

TIM HENMAN: I think, you know, I've done my best to try and stay pretty positive and making sure that I look a little bit longer term when you think of the next four or five years. But, certainly, other players have talked about how difficult it is in the short term to come back and play at this level when you haven't had so many matches. I certainly agree with them.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, my shoulder feels absolutely 100 percent.

TIM HENMAN: No, that's why it's a bit bizarre. But I'll have good days and bad.

TIM HENMAN: No (smiling).

TIM HENMAN: No, I don't know. Hopefully, you know, with my old coach who's now in charge, David Felgate, I think he has as good a chance as anyone because he's so passionate and he's so motivated to improve the game. You know, I think with the changes of the wildcard situation at Wimbledon, he appreciates that we want to see British players playing there on merit and not just taking advantage of wildcards and losing in the first round. They've been talking about it for such a long time, you know. Until something does happen and more and more players start coming through, then it's still a pretty depressing subject.

TIM HENMAN: I had self-doubt when I wasn't sure about my shoulder because I knew that unless I got my shoulder, you know, 100 percent, I saw when I was playing I don't know what percentage, but when I wasn't healthy by the end of last year, you just have to be -- you have to be 100 percent. I think there's no two ways about that. But, no, absolutely not. There's no question if I, you know, can start to string together some tournaments and play some matches, I have absolutely no doubt that I'll get back to where I was.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it's not the first time it's probably been stated. I think you have a moderate amount of success at a young age and, you know, things get thrown at you pretty readily. You guys are desperate to be talking about other players and other people coming up. And sometimes, when they're young and you suddenly see your name in the paper, you get some contracts and a little bit of financial income, you know, you suddenly might think it's a little bit easier than it actually is. When it starts to sink in and you start playing as a professional for a living, I think some of the British youngsters, you know, get a big shock. It's a rude awakening. Sometimes, they have a couple of years where they are stuck in the satellites and it's difficult to get yourself out of that later down the line.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it certainly is from my point of view. It was a bit of a -- it was a pretty sort of difficult situation because of the way the doubles sort of sign-in works now. There were partners (inaudible) and changing at the last minute. Then we actually thought we were going to be in and we didn't get in, then we ended up getting a wildcard. So we have to try and take advantage of that, that opportunity. And, you know, in comparison with myself and him, with the amount of time that, you know, it took him to come back after his injury, he had his hip surgery and it took him quite some time. So, you know, that's where -- I'm not going to wait for things to happen, but I've got to be a little bit realistic that it will take time.

TIM HENMAN: Well, I would have thought me, but with some of the volleys I missed today, makes you wonder...(inaudible). I think I have a better chance at the net.