US OPEN

August 27, 2001

Tim Henman

MODERATOR: Questions for Tim.

TIM HENMAN: Plenty of that. Yeah, didn't feel very comfortable physically on the court. Even midway through the second set, I didn't really feel particularly good. I felt like I was playing okay, but I would have liked to have finished it off in the third set. Wasn't able to do that, obviously, and it became a struggle after that. Certainly, as it went on, he started to make life very, very difficult for me.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, my stomach didn't feel particularly good. Then, obviously, with the humidity, I was sweating a lot. I was getting a little bit dehydrated. You know, it was a mental and a physical battle perhaps more so than a tennis battle.

TIM HENMAN: I don't know. I mean, I just didn't really feel -- my stomach didn't feel great. But you've got to find a way to get through those types of situationns. That's why I'm relieved. But I'm very, very pleased as well, because in the fifth it wasn't looking great all the time. But I found a little extra something from somewhere.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I mean, in an ideal world, you'd like to win more comfortably, for sure. You want to try to save as much energy as you can. Having said that, I lost my fair share of five-set matches in Slams. You know, it's a good one to get under your belt. Certainly, I know I've been in a battle, and that can serve me well. I personally don't think it will be a problem for me to sort of recover. I'm a bit stiff now. You know, tomorrow, with a good practice, a good stretch and massage, I don't envision having any problems.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I think it has positives and negatives. But I certainly feel, you know, it was obviously brought up at Wimbledon, solved a lot of problems at Wimbledon, the Slams have followed suit. That's fine by me.

TIM HENMAN: Yes and no. Every match I play has a rain delay these days. It's fairly ironic. I found that when I stopped, obviously for that break, I don't know exactly how long we were off, but I felt a little bit as if I was stiffening up. I had to try and keep moving, keep drinking, keep hydrating. I tried to do stretching, and that didn't -- body didn't seem to agree with that (smiling). It was an unknown quantity coming back onto the court. It was almost like if I felt like I was going to try too hard physically, I didn't know whether I would cramp up or not. You know, I was pretty pleased with the way I finished it off.

TIM HENMAN: I'm not sure how much he knew about it, but it essentially wasn't what I was looking for. Talked about trying -- talked with Larry about trying to keep him tucked as much as possible, serving into the body. Seemed like whenever I was giving him any width, he was latching onto it. I hit the perfect serve to his body, volley to his forehand, had to watch in disbelief. But I was pleased I hung in that game and played a good game to break.

TIM HENMAN: Wasn't looking great at 2-3, Love-30 in the fifth. There's still a long way to go. Have to use my experience and sort of rely on his inexperience, perhaps. You know, I hit some good serves to get myself out of trouble. You know, that was a question of I didn't play the most amazing tennis, but I wasn't going to give him anything. At that stage, you know, it's going to boil down to probably a couple of mistakes or one, you know, great shot. I got the break. I wasn't going to let go of it.

TIM HENMAN: Obviously, it's different. I enjoy both because I've always said throughout my career, I'm sure I always will continue to say, that Wimbledon, the grass court period is my favorite time of year. Having said that, there is a lot of attention, a lot of media spotlight at that time of the year. I enjoy coming to the States where it's a little lower key, I can go about my business without quite so many distractions.

TIM HENMAN: Something that's pretty much been there for the majority of my career. Either get used to it or you don't. If you don't want to get used to it, then you don't play. But I've always enjoyed it. I've thrived in that atmosphere.

TIM HENMAN: It was cooler, but a lot more humid. We've been practicing here for the last four or five days, and it's been great. It's been almost not quite a dry heat. There were a couple of days in Cincy that got pretty humid, pretty hot. But, no, I certainly struggled. There were times when I wasn't feeling good. But you've just got to try and get through it somehow.

TIM HENMAN: Huh-uh.

TIM HENMAN: I think in the knock-up, I heard it. Didn't hear it after that.

TIM HENMAN: Fortunately, getting frustrated wasn't an option. I don't think I had the energy to get frustrated at that stage (smiling). You have to accept that at this level, guys are going to play good tennis. He was certainly raising his levels. But I felt that on his serve I was always in with a chance. I had some opportunities. Hit some big serves. I felt like if I kept plugging away, I would get my opportunity. You know, as it was, I got my nose in front. I think when we came out, perhaps he wasn't -- his rhythm was slightly off.

TIM HENMAN: In all honesty, it's certainly something you have to expect when you play here, that there's going to be a lot of movement, there's going to be a lot of noise. If you're not prepared for that, then you will struggle. It is, it's a big contrast obviously from Wimbledon where, you know, I think the crowd have an enormous amount of respect for the players.

TIM HENMAN: What can you do about it? Exactly. Not a point at all in worrying about it. You just have to get on with it.

TIM HENMAN: I didn't feel particularly good at the French a couple years ago against Vicente. I felt very lethargic that day. But, no, you can't always feel your best.

TIM HENMAN: No, I haven't. Certainly won't stop me eating sushi. You've just got to try and choose the right place to go (smiling). I don't know what it is. Don't know whether I ate too much this morning. Perhaps I wasn't quite feeling my best. As I said, I kind of wanted to tell myself that perhaps I was feeling better than he was. He's a big guy. He has to carry a lot more weight than I do. At times, I couldn't quite kid myself enough.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I'm not sure. We played on clay. I can remember that. I don't know how many other times we played, if at all. It was difficult today playing someone who you've never seen hit a ball. I knew who he was, but didn't know a great deal about his game. Obviously with Meligeni, it's an easier game plan for me. He's going to be, you know, very athletic, running down a lot of balls. But he doesn't tend to come forward a great deal. I'd like to think that my game matches up pretty well against his.