PACIFIC LIFE OPEN

March 15, 2002

Tim Henman

MODERATOR: Tim advances to his fifth career Tennis Masters Series semifinal - the fourth different Tennis Masters Series in North America, as well. Questions for Tim.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it definitely was. You know, the first five, six games were really difficult. From my point of view, I felt like I was hitting the ball much, much better from the baseline than I had yesterday against Safin. But I think with playing early and playing when it was relatively cool, I had a tough time getting my serve to go through the court. Probably an instance where at the beginning of the match you're trying to find your range. But I think I should have perhaps gone for it a little bit more. And, you know, he played some pretty good tennis, as well. But the two games early on in both sets which I think were crucial were the 40-Love on his serve when I broke back, and also when I was Love-40 on my serve. I think, you know, that's not a great feeling for him mentally. It was obviously a big boost to me.

TIM HENMAN: No, sure. Well, early on, it was obviously not the tennis you would expect, with the breaks of serve. But I felt like once those, you know, four games had sort of got out of the way, from my point of view, I'm certainly not going to complain. I didn't drop my serve. But, you know, in all honesty, early in the second set, I had 15-30 on his serve. You know, I miss a return, then he comes to the net. When you've got someone like him at the net, you have to make them volley. I missed the passing shot, missed the easy volley on the next shot, I'm down Love-40. You know, that wasn't ideal. In difficult situations, I take the positives, I responded really, really well. From that moment on, the second set was great from my point of view.

TIM HENMAN: It's twofold, isn't it? I felt like I served particularly well on those points. But, you know, on the other side, you don't really want to be putting yourself in that situation. So I take confidence out of it, but I'm also aware that I need to probably try and start the sets a little bit better than I have done. But, you know, again, if you don't, can't always get off to the best starts, you have to find a way to get into it.

TIM HENMAN: It's true. I think the outside courts at the Australian Open we start at 10. So you pray that you can get on center court or Vodafone there. They start at 11. But, you know, from my point of view, as well, it's definitely slower. I mean, the courts are on the slow side anyway. But when it hasn't heated up, when it's still pretty cool, you know, you've got to be even more aggressive. I think you really can get out there and go, you know, really take the ball on.

TIM HENMAN: Well, it would be a huge stepping stone. You know, I'd dearly love to win one, especially this one, because I think, you know, outside a Slam, this is I think probably most people's favorite event. Perhaps the clay court guys are going to choose one of the clay court tournaments. You know, I think this is one of the best tournaments of the year. You look at the field, certainly on the men's side, it really doesn't get any stronger than this. So, yeah, so far, so good. It gets harder from here.

TIM HENMAN: I wouldn't necessarily say mentally tougher, but I definitely see improvements in my game, both technically and tactically. But there's still a long, long way to go. I think my serving is -- I've been pretty open about that's an area I've worked really hard on. It is definitely getting a lot better. But, you know, still, it can go to another level. That's a good sign. You know, if I'm winning, playing the way I am, and I still think there are so many improvements, that gives me a lot of confidence.

TIM HENMAN: Well, he's not a bad motivator, but I don't think that's an area that I particularly need. I've always been, you know, very, very motivated as far as my career and what I want to achieve and my work ethic. But I think where he's having a much bigger influence is technically and tactically.

TIM HENMAN: Well, again, you know, for me to implement my attacking game, you know, the way they return, the way they hit the ball from the baseline, I think I'm going to have to, you know, play as I did probably in the second set against Safin, to play that sort of consistency. They are very, very comfortable on hard courts. But, you know, I do feel with the way I'm moving, I feel very comfortable, you know, to stay in some of the rallies because you're going to have to. You can't really win points out here with just one big hit because the court and the balls are slow enough that a lot of people can run them down. I think at times I've been the one that's been able to run balls down and keep myself in the rallies, and that's frustrating perhaps for my opponents.

TIM HENMAN: I think you go through phases. Sometimes you stand up to the line and you serve out sets, serve out matches particularly easily. But, no, no question, it's been a bit of a struggle. You know, today I got off to a better start, which was certainly pleasing because that's something I've talked about. You know, I wasn't able to close it out quite as comfortably as I'd like. You know, again, I got the job done - that's the most important thing.

TIM HENMAN: We try and avoid that subject. I try and avoid that subject. But, no, it would be good for me to get a win here certainly.

TIM HENMAN: It's a nice situation for me having got through, I can go watch them battle it out. I don't know exactly how many times I played Todd. I've played him a few times. I think I played Yevgeny 12 or 13 times. Again, no hidden secrets. We know each other's games. You know, I'll look forward to the challenge because it's going to be tough on this type of court to keep playing an attacking style when, you know, you're up against very solid groundstrokes, good returners. You know, it's going to be fun to test myself.

TIM HENMAN: I do. Really, I think it's a brilliant stadium. It is a big stadium, but I think this is probably the right size. It gets a lot of comparison I think with New York because of the blue seats, the way it's designed. But I'm sure you've got a better view here than perhaps at the very back of the nosebleed sections in Flushing Meadows. But, you know, playing at 10:00 when it's still cool, it is hard work. You hit a lot of great shots, and it doesn't seem like you get much reward for them. As the match goes on, it definitely gets a bit warmer.

TIM HENMAN: I think more so my own game. But, you know, he will -- you know, he certainly know's Yevgeny's game as well as anyone. Having said that, I've played Yevgeny so many times, so I don't think there are any -- too many secrets anyway. But, you know, just have to wait and see.