TMS MONTE CARLO

April 19, 2002

Tim Henman

THE MODERATOR: First question for Tim, please.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it's okay. I mean, it's a bit sore.

TIM HENMAN: I don't know. I haven't really seen anyone yet. But I think most parts of my body are entitled to be a bit sore.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it's just a lot of -- when you're hitting kick serves a lot and serving in general, you're stretching so much. So, yeah, it feels a little bit sore, but I don't envision it being any problems for tomorrow.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah. Well, the thing that disappointed me most at the beginning was that I wasn't really -- wasn't really using my head a great deal. Because I started off I was hitting the ball pretty well the first few games. But, if anything, I was playing into his style too much. When you're playing flat and without so much topspin, he's -- he can generate so much power, so much more power than I can from the baseline. And probably on his serve he was getting cheap points and I wasn't, if you like. And disappointed it took me so long to decide to change things around, but I suppose it was worth waiting for.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, yeah, 15-40.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, well, because then I suddenly decided that, you know, perhaps we should just play a few really long rallies. It's not really my style, but I wasn't being too effective up until that point. So then I didn't give him any pace. I started hitting a lot of looping balls and just played a few long rallies, said, "I'm not going to make any unforced errors," and it began to change the momentum. Then still on my serve I decided to be much more aggressive in my first serve, really go for it. And, again, that paid off.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, because I felt especially on clay you really got to make your opponent earn it. And I think, as I said, I was probably making a few too many unforced errors. And, you know, wasn't really stretching him too much. But after I got the break of serve, I played, you know, second and third sets as consistently and as good as I've probably ever played against that style, which is the toughest.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, yeah.

TIM HENMAN: I sense an element of surprise sometimes when they see me hitting volley winners. It's kind of --.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it's funny.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I think certainly perhaps my style of play is, you know, is clear to most people. And, you know, I don't know if "unique" is the right word, but it's pretty rare at this tournament and these types of tournaments. And, again, it always makes fun watching, I think, when you've got a good contrast in styles. And, again, you know, I just think the way I was able to, again, play a different style of clay court tennis today against, you know, a very good player and to come through it in such a tight one is really good news.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, again, I felt like today's match was a step up in the level and sort of the challenge levels, if you like. Because, you know, playing -- to beat the South American guys or whatever is very difficult. But it's very - I think it's very clear-cut, the way I've got to play. But today I had to adjust again. And in all honesty playing Moya, I think it's probably up another level. I'm enjoying the challenges so far, so I'll just see how I fare.

TIM HENMAN: I think so, yeah, I think it's pretty good going. But I'm not -- I'm obviously not finished yet. I want to see how far I can go. That's the enjoyable bit - when you've worked very hard on a lot of aspects of your game and you start to see the results on the match court.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah.

TIM HENMAN: Sure, sure.

TIM HENMAN: It is, yeah. I mean, I think that's the honest answer. You know, I've played on that court enough times to -- for that not to affect me. But, again, you know, my opponent is a world-class clay court - is a world-class player - and he's probably even better on clay. I look forward to it. I don't feel like I've got anything to lose.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, definitely. I mean, you guys know as well as anyhow how high the standard is. And especially on clay, because there are so many players that are born and bred on this surface. That's why, you know, you talk about the French and you say, well, "Who could win the French?" And there is a whole list of guys that could win the French. Whereas, you know, when it comes down to Wimbledon, the numbers of genuine contenders is a lot less.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it was. Again, we had certainly at that stage of the match weren't going to give any cheap points. And, you know, I felt like I was very consistent. But I was struggling with myself mentally because, you know, having had two matchpoints, I could have perhaps got frustrated. But I stuck to my game plan, even at -- you know, when was it, 6-3 in the tiebreak. I hit a good slice backhand, I get a bad bounce as well for him, and he hits it down the line on the line. You know, I still managed to finish it off. So it was very, very satisfying.

TIM HENMAN: Don't think I've ever won on it. What difference does that make? I lost to Meligeni, I had matchpoint.

TIM HENMAN: I felt like I was struggling with my game plan. Because, as I said, playing the other three guys, it's very -- to me, it's very, very clear. But playing him on clay, I wasn't quite sure of how to adapt my game. And that's kind of what frustrated me early on, that, you know, I was down 4-1 and I was obviously losing the majority of the baseline points. But I wasn't really making any changes. And that's why, you know, in hindsight I should have made some changes a bit earlier. It took me a set before I then started to change the shape of the rallies, if you like, and play a little bit defensively. But it's much harder for him to attack if the balls are, you know, bouncing up a lot higher instead of coming through. Once I got the first set out of the way, it was all good news for me.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, sure. I've spoken to him I think every day since I've been here, ever since Thursday. I'm sure he'll be aware of the results.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah. Well, I mean, I wouldn't -- I'd say I'd probably take a bit more of the credit doing it on my own than having Larry here. But we've certainly spoken about it enough times each day so that he doesn't actually see the match, but I think he's aware of everything else that's been going on and everything that has gone into this - the work that we've done. Just because he's not here doesn't mean that all that input is forgotten about.

TIM HENMAN: No, no, not yet. I think it's still safe to say he'll be in Rome.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, yeah.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah.

TIM HENMAN: Well, if you don't ask, you don't get (laughter). Yeah, no, I didn't. No. I was a little bit surprised.

TIM HENMAN: No, I didn't -- No. Well, I thought I needed it. But he looked a bit disappointed (laughter).

TIM HENMAN: Not really the time, is it?

TIM HENMAN: You know, it's difficult, isn't it? What are my odds - I'll ask you - what are my odds of winning the tournament before the tournament starts?

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, very outside. But I still think, you know, on a given day, you know, I can win any match. But, you know, can I win six in a row? I don't know. So that's why, you know, you put yourself out there, you put yourself on the line. And, you know, at the end of it, you're either going to win the match or lose. That's kind of the way I approach it. So you talk about what's a good week, what's a bad week. I don't -- it's not really the right way to approach it. I just, you know, go out there and try, I think it's as simple as that. I think I'll be able to answer that question better when the week's -- when I finish with this week.