WIMBLEDON

June 29, 2000

Tim Henman

MODERATOR: Questions, please.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, very satisfying. I felt like I had to work very hard out there. On the two occasions I lost my serve, I didn't quite make enough first serves and he was onto it. I felt like I needed to keep the consistency up in all aspects of my game. To come through in straight sets is a good win for me.

TIM HENMAN: I do. I think, as I said before, it brings out that little bit extra in me. I think that's definitely been evident in my two matches here. My preparation was fairly well-documented. I was the first to appreciate it wasn't ideal. In the two matches I played, I've definitely improved enormously from those two previous tournaments.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it's good to be back. I really enjoyed my first match. It was probably my most enjoyable on Court 1 because I have struggled there in the past. To be on Centre Court was really a good feeling. Winning is the most important bit.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, that's a big plus for me. I've been on the other end of the stick, if you like, when I've been in tournaments and seeds have been going out left, right and centre, and I've been one of them. I'm trying to avoid that. It's not easy because the standard is very, very high. You look at the results, seeds that have lost, the standard drops fractionally and they're out. You've just got to try and keep plugging away.

TIM HENMAN: I can't really say. It's not really relevant to me. It's so far away, you know, where we are in the draws, whatever. But, you know, this is Wimbledon. He's not going to give up without a fight. I think that was evident in his match last night. He wasn't looking too healthy out there, but seems to serve better and better.

TIM HENMAN: They're always good, yeah, they're incredible. Everything about this place is my favourite. I spoke about trying to travel with an excessive entourage with the crowd. It is. They're phenomenal. I really, really enjoy playing in front of them. Hopefully they enjoy watching. The combination is good. I want that to continue.

TIM HENMAN: I was probably expecting to play Arazi.

TIM HENMAN: But definitely not Clement. Again, you know, we see it time and time again in the men's game, there are so many upsets, matches that don't really go according to form or reputation. It's the same old adage, isn't it. It's one match at a time. I really does apply right now because you just never know what to expect.

TIM HENMAN: I think I go into this match as the favourite. I've got a pretty good record against him. I played him not so long ago in Hamburg on clay, and I won that. I think most people would agree I go in the favourite. From what I've been talking about in the last five minutes, it just goes to show that means nothing. I'll have to come out and play as I have been. If I can do that, I think I've got a good chance.

TIM HENMAN: 25.

TIM HENMAN: No, I don't agree with that.

TIM HENMAN: I can only sort of talk about how I feel about my game. I've said all along, I've got a lot more improving to do. I think it's fair to say I've been a fairly late developer. You know, I still think I've got a lot of years in front of me. You only have to look at someone like Agassi, with his game, you would have thought he was perhaps moving to the end of his career because he's been around so long. His year last year was incredible. He's already won a Slam this year. I think everybody's a little bit different. Muster played for a long, long time. I'm not going to put a time limit on myself. I'm sure Pete wouldn't do the same.

TIM HENMAN: I think it's pretty fair to say that the conditions that we play in have changed. It probably does favour more so the baseliners and the returners now because the conditions are definitely slower and the balls are heavier. It's probably harder to do right now. If you are going to do it, you're going to have to do it very, very well.

TIM HENMAN: First and foremost, I think the Champions Race is very, very good. Secondly, Kuerten is No. 1 in the race, and Norman is No. 2. I don't think anyone would deny Norman his place of second in the race. He made the semifinals in Australia; he made the finals at the French; he won Rome; he won another tournament this year. I think his results speak for itself. I think it's much easier for everybody to follow. I think there are a lot of pluses.

TIM HENMAN: Again, it's tough. It's a tough one to answer. Right now I think I've got a good chance of one day - whether it happens this year, whenever - I think I've got a good chance of winning. That's definitely a goal of mine. I think I've made that very clear throughout the last four or five years. I'll work as hard as I can to try and achieve that. Whether I do or not, only time will tell. From my point of view, I want to look back at the end of my career and say, "I did everything I could. I worked as hard as I possibly was able to at all times." If it happens, great. If it doesn't, I can't have any complaints.

TIM HENMAN: Not really. I think it's something, the expectation has always been there. It's nothing new for me. You know, I've said this probably a lot before. I can't really -- it's not something I can control. I just worry about my game. If I concentrate on that and if I play well, I win my matches, then you find everything else takes care of itself.

TIM HENMAN: I think it's an aspect of the game that has improved in a lot of people's games. The server is still probably dominant in the number of games that they win, but I think you have to serve better, because if you don't, you're going to get broken. There's always different times of year when different aspects of the game are highlighted. But I think it's fair to say that all aspects get better and better all the time. If you don't improve your own game, you're going to get left behind.

TIM HENMAN: Most definitely. He's had a lot of very encouraging results. I think he's shown a lot of good signs. Now it's important that he continues to back it up because we've seen in the past a lot of good results - good, but better results for British players at this time of year. They haven't been able to back it up for the rest of the year. I feel confident that he can do that because he's a very good player.

TIM HENMAN: Better promotion of what?

TIM HENMAN: I think their game is in a good state. They've got a lot of good players. I think their standard as well as ours is improving all the time. Tennis in general I think is getting better all the time.

TIM HENMAN: I don't think it's quite so unexpected. I think when you talk about seeded players, obviously in the early rounds they are going to be the favourites. You look at the draws week in, week out on the tour, more and more of the underdogs are winning. Sure, when you've got as much attention as a tournament like this has, then there is going to be a lot of talk about the seeds losing. I just have to try and avoid that for myself.

TIM HENMAN: It's a difficult topic. My solution, my sort of opinion, is that in Grand Slams, you should seed 32 players, then you're not going to have that issue. We seed 8 players in a 32 draw. We seed 16 in a 64 draw. Maybe it seems common sense that we should seed 32 in a 128 draw.

TIM HENMAN: They've had the opportunity to do that for many, many years. The French Open has the same opportunity, but they've never used that right. If I had turned up at the French this year and I hadn't been seeded because of my past clay court record, I would have accepted it and I would have gone out to try and prove those people wrong.

TIM HENMAN: I think they were perfectly entitled to voice their opinion, and that they did. Where I think I would have been slightly different is that I would have liked to have gone out and, as I said, tried to prove them wrong. I think it wasn't so long ago that Albert Costa beat Chang which he was the No. 2 seed, and had some better results on grass. I think Corretja has proved on other surfaces, he won The Masters, he's won indoor tournaments, and I don't see there's no reason why he can't play well on grass.

TIM HENMAN: Again, there's nothing stopping him. That's his choice. That is his choice. I don't quite know the sort -- his sort of background.

TIM HENMAN: Got a British passport, I think. The decision is his, isn't it?

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I'm not going to oppose it. But I think from a British tennis point of view, we've got to start producing players through our system. I think that is fair to say.

TIM HENMAN: I think, again, it's a discussion that's been around for a long time. It's not suddenly come to the surface that he's got a British passport. I think people have known for a long, long time. You come to Wimbledon, you win a couple of matches, there's a lot of people that like to write different stories. It's an interesting one.