TMS - INDIAN WELLS

March 14, 2001

Tim Henman

MODERATOR: Questions for Tim.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I felt like perhaps I didn't start quite as well as I did yesterday. Again, a different style of player. I felt like I had to make adjustments. Yesterday I was trying to be, you know, patient and waiting to get forward. Today I felt like I wanted to play quickly and more sort of directly at him to give him less angles to work with. I think when I played him in Rotterdam, the thing that I learned was if you played slowly and the ball was getting up a little bit higher, I think that's what he likes because he has more time to set up, and then he can generate a lot of power with a lot of spin. I felt like if I could play quickly and give him less time to sort of wind up, that was what was going to give me the best chance. Yeah, I was very, very pleased overall.

TIM HENMAN: That's right. There are certainly times when he produces the unexpected. There were a couple of occasions early -- well, no, at the end of the first game of the second set, you know, he produces an unbelievable backhand when I've saved a breakpoint, hit good first serve, first volley. Suddenly the backhand heats up from him. Next game, 30-All, I've hit the best possible approach shot. He's going backwards, and still hits it down the line for a clean winner. You've got to be able to accept that he will produce some pretty spectacular tennis. But I think overall, you know, my consistency to keep him under pressure as much as possible definitely paid off. That tactic of giving him as little time as possible certainly paid dividends.

TIM HENMAN: That's sort of in the back of my mind. I'm hoping that that's going to be the case. Again, it's a fine balance of me being aggressive to give him as little times a possible, but not overstepping the mark where I'm going to start making unforced errors. That's probably what he wants. That's what I'm trying to sort of get out of him, is a few more mistakes. It was difficult, again, 6-3, I'm up 30-Love, you know, suddenly Norm wants to get involved in the match. Everything had been going pretty well up until then. You get an overrule, and that was sort of a little bit distracting for a while. Again, likewise from the first set. I was 2-Love down in the second set, and then really played some good tennis.

TIM HENMAN: No, I think sometimes you sit down at the change of ends, you're trying to get as much liquid on board as possible. You probably drink a little bit too fast, it sort of gets a bit stuck before you're about to serve. Drink slowly I think is the moral of the story.

TIM HENMAN: I expect they felt like they were whispering up there. I think the ball travels pretty fast in this air, but I think voices travel quite fast as well.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it's Bjorkman or Lapentti.

TIM HENMAN: I've got a good record against Lapentti. Have to wait and see. I obviously lost to Bjorkman at Nottingham. I've beaten him on a couple of occasions, I think - one occasion I can think of - and I've lost to him a few times. Yeah, I think I prefer to play Lapentti. Again, either way, they're both very good players. First and foremost, I'm pleased with where my game is. If I keep the form up, then I think I've got a good chance in that match, as well.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, he is. He definitely likes to take the return of serve early. Obviously one of his strengths, obviously why he plays so well in doubles. He's got a pretty solid all-around game. Slightly unorthodox, but he's a good athlete, volleys very well. I think it will be different styles -- a different style of match, whether I play Lapentti or Bjorkman.

TIM HENMAN: Totally different compared to?

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, definitely. It is. It's twofold. I think there is a significance to these events with the way the ranking system works. As you say, when you're in these type of surroundings, you look at the facilities, I think they're as good as they get. You add to that the weather, you add to that the scenery, yeah, it doesn't get much better. I think these two tournaments, these two events, are definitely setting the standards for the Masters Series. You know, I don't know what your facilities are like, but everything that we come in contact with is pretty much ideal. I think that's a big credit to the people that have put together this event. Likewise in Miami. It's what the others have probably got to step up to.

TIM HENMAN: Again, as long as it is warm, I think that definitely helps. I was listening actually yesterday, I've always envisaged that this is altitude. It's actually only 200 feet. It doesn't really I think make -- it can't be that there's actually altitude. Obviously with the desert air, it being dry and hot, I think that's probably why the ball certainly does fly a little bit more, whereas in Miami, you know, the humidity sometimes can slow it down. I think perhaps the court surface is a little less abrasive than it is here.

TIM HENMAN: It's all prevention rather than cure again. Before every match, especially on these types of surfaces, if I don't tape them, I'll get bad blisters. That's an ongoing thing before every match.

TIM HENMAN: No, no, I do it myself. Both toes. I'm an expert at it now.