TMS - CINCINNATI

August 12, 2000

Tim Henman

THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it was. I think it was probably my toughest match of the week, and I think the quality of tennis for both of us was really, really high at all times. And to come through such a close match and really finish off in style is very satisfying.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, that's right. And, you know, after losing the first set, that was what -- that was my sorts of focus of attention, because I was obviously disappointed not to have won that set having had the chances I had and struggling with my second serve at that stage. But I thought, you know, he hasn't broke me yet, let's just keep holding his serve and good things can happen. And that's exactly the right way to approach it. I kept serving well. Got an early break in the second set and then just have to hang in as we went into the third.

TIM HENMAN: I wasn't going to start complaining, that's for sure. (Laughter.) Yeah, I don't know, I haven't won too many tiebreaks 7-Love in my career but that definitely was good timing. I think one of the strong points has been my sort of game plan and the way I'm executing it. Because even though when we got into rallies, I think at times I was holding my own. I knew that was something to try and avoid, and I don't think I missed the first serve in the tiebreak and every opportunity I was getting forward. And it paid off really, really well.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it's such a, you know, winning and losing and the points that we play, it's such a fine line. And from my point of view in the third-set tiebreak, you know, I played very, very consistently. You know, it wasn't like I suddenly hit aces and hit winners. I made -- I got the first point from a double-fault, which is a nice start, and then, you know, I hit two good first serves, and that was enough to get me up 3-Love, then I kept being aggressive. And obviously it wasn't the best tiebreak he played, but it has to go down as one of my best.

TIM HENMAN: Different type of match. Yeah, I think in a way the Sampras match was probably more of a mental battle having, you know, lost to him on a number of occasions. But today was very hard physically. I don't know exactly the time, the length of the match, but it seemed like we were out there for a pretty long time and you had to stay tough at all times. And everything about it is, you know, is very satisfying to come through.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I think so. I wouldn't say that I played too badly in some of those Finals. I had a pretty rough spell losing 7-6 in the third to Pete at Queen's. The next final I lost 7-6 in the fifth to Kucera. Next final I lost 7-6 in the third to Pioline. I wouldn't say that a great deal went my way. I played some really good tennis in all those Finals, but perhaps luck wasn't on my side. And this week I was 0-6 going into the match against Pete and I wasn't going to dwell on that. Just going to play the match as it came. I think it's right to take the same attitude in tomorrow's final.

TIM HENMAN: It's a combination of the hard work I've been putting in. It's not by any means a fluke, because I said at the end of last year things needed to be changed and I had a plan for my career. And now I'm reaping the rewards from that hard work. But don't get me wrong, it's been a great week. And I want to win the final tomorrow but there's still a lot more to happen further down the road.

TIM HENMAN: I don't think you want to dwell on it too much. I played some really, really good tennis. We both had a few break points, and nine times out of ten the guy who was down played a lot of big serves and played some good points. And, you know, we both had opportunities in the tiebreak and we couldn't take them. And unfortunately I wasted mine before I was able to take them. So couldn't have got much closer, and I wasn't going to, you know, suddenly start getting down about that. I was going to get my thoughts on to the second set, and getting an early break was very important.

TIM HENMAN: Not really. I think it's in my nature that I'm, you know, I'm not one that gets particularly down. And I know that the mental -- my mental toughness is one of my attributes. That's why I've got to use it.

TIM HENMAN: There's only a couple of them here. It's ironic, yeah. (Laughter.)

TIM HENMAN: No, he doesn't do my column anymore. He used to. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. It is ironic that they watch me play so much. Besides my coach, they probably watch me as much as anyone. That's the way it goes. I can say that after the month -- the five weeks around Wimbledon when everything gets so intense and there is an enormous spotlight on me, it's nice to come to the States where I can, you know, go about my business with slightly less interest and, you know, I've enjoyed that.

TIM HENMAN: I don't know. Too many. I mean there's a few of them. Most of the newspapers will have journalists that will travel to the tournaments but I think ... (Inaudible).

TIM HENMAN: No, perhaps I should recommend that they stay away more often. (Laughter.) Yeah.

TIM HENMAN: I didn't know anything about it. He was getting his finger taped, and I think they were waiting for some type of ointment or medicine to put on the blister, and then I heard someone say it. I said, "Oh, what's that all about?" David said to me there was a rumor he might not play. I'm not one to start believing the rumors until, you know, it's actually -- something actually happens. So it didn't really cross my mind.

TIM HENMAN: I had to -- I felt great out there and I've had shorter matches than he has, and fitness is one of the areas I've worked really hard on. I think it's clear for everyone to see my movement around the court and at the net. So, yeah, definitely I hoped that he was going to get tired. I felt like when I served his backhand, he was struggling to grip the racquet and that was when he was -- that seemed when he was affected by the blister the most. So I had to keep trying to serve there as much as possible. But, no, it's so close. Some days they go your way and some days they don't. But it's great that it went my way.

TIM HENMAN: I used to do -- I used to sort of do a lot more weight-oriented work. I felt like I was getting stronger but I really didn't feel like I was getting any quicker. Then at the end of last year I started working with a new fitness trainer and we changed things around. I did a lot more -- just a lot more running, interval work, and I feel like that's definitely paid off.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah. It was mostly sort of in November and December when I finished and I was pretty sort of unsatisfied the way the year had finished off, I did, I just did a lot of early-morning runs and, you know, running five, six, seven miles and doing different interval type things. And then practicing and then doing another different type of speed work on the court. And that definitely helped.

TIM HENMAN: I mean it's getting better all the time. That's why when you put in so much work and, you know, both on and off the court I was working sort of harder than I worked before and practicing more specifically, it's frustrating because you want those results to happen quickly. But you have to remain patient because it's not going to change overnight. And that's why there have been, you know, a couple of close matches that I've lost this year and I wanted desperately to win those. But I'm a firm believer that hard work does pay off, and I think this is the proof right now.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, both are really tough opponents because they're obviously playing well. I think Enqvist is the -- he's the favorite in that match maybe, maybe the favorite, still being the highest-ranked guy. But they're going to spend most of their time on the baseline. Enqvist has a very big serve. I think Clement has a deceptively good serve. I think, again, I've just got to try to employ the same tactics. I don't think I'm going to beat them from the baseline. I've got to remain aggressive and keep moving forward. I look forward to whoever I play.

TIM HENMAN: I think Enqvist probably. There's not many people that hit the ball harder than Enqvist. He hits it pretty flat. I think he, you know, from the baseline, his serve, he hits the ball hard. He's not so comfortable at the net, but we just have to wait and see, you know, who wins that.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, if I would have lost to him, then I wouldn't have...(Laughter)... Wouldn't have much recovering to do at all, would I? (Laughter.) It definitely helps if you can have some shorter matches, and I had a pretty tough first-round match. But besides that my next three in time were relatively short. As I said yesterday, I was enjoying watching Todd and Guga play for so long because I thought it might help me if I could beat Santoro. You have to ask, you know, I don't know what Guga said, whether he was tired or not, but, you know, I definitely felt very fresh out there.

TIM HENMAN: Very -- sort of right at the back of your mind maybe, because I wanted to concentrate on these tournaments. It's no good worrying about the Open when you've got three big tournaments to play. And I knew I was capable of having the right results to make sure that I was seeded and I'm on the way to doing that.

TIM HENMAN: Definitely. I've had a lot of good results on grass and I obviously play well on grass, but I think sometimes other people don't play so well on it. So that helps me. But we only play on it for three or four weeks a year. So I would say that, you know, out of the other surfaces, this definitely is the one that suits me best and the one I enjoy playing on most.