TMS - THE ERICSSON OPEN

March 29, 2000

Tim Henman

ATP: Questions for Tim.

TIM HENMAN: Not really. It's obviously about winning and losing. I won more games; I probably won more points. At the end of the day, I suppose I didn't win the most important ones. No, it was a good match, but I think the frustration of losing is the overriding feeling.

TIM HENMAN: Not really, no. I was thinking about my next point. When you're serving with a big strong wind behind you, your margin of error is pretty small. I served some doubles in the match up until then. It wasn't the ideal time, but that's the way it goes.

TIM HENMAN: You're just trying to take it one point at a time. That was exactly the way I wanted to start. Having said that, I knew that serving into the wind, I had to be aggressive. There's no point in just rolling the serves in. I made him come up with some big shots at the right time for him. I felt like when I was up 5-3 in the third, I thought that was a pretty crucial game on his serve. I'd have liked to have tried to have broken him for the match. But, yeah, you know, it was close. It was anyone's match.

TIM HENMAN: I'm sure we both were pretty tired. But, you know, you're just giving it everything you've got. Realized that later on in the third set, there was only probably a couple more games to go. You just give it everything you've got. I think we can both categorically say that we did that. Unfortunately, my effort wasn't good enough.

TIM HENMAN: I think I played a pretty good match, yeah. I think my game has definitely been improving. But right now, it's the winning and losing that's the most important thing.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it is. It's very disappointing. As someone said, Could you take heart from the performance? I played a good match. But as I've said, at this level, it's about winning and losing. Right now, yeah, it's very disappointing.

TIM HENMAN: I think I played, yeah, pretty well. I think his level dropped off a little bit. I definitely kept my level after playing a pretty good first set. I think the standard of tennis was high. If anything, he probably dropped his level just a fraction. When I had my chances, I took them. I ran away with the second set pretty comfortably.

TIM HENMAN: Again, it felt like my match with Rios. When you've got the wind coming from one direction, when you're playing downwind, that's when you've got a pretty big advantage. I had lost my serve serving into the wind, so I knew I had to make life difficult for him when he was serving into the wind. As you say, that was a great time to break straight back to love, and held my serve again to keep the pressure on. When the wind is in the direction as it was, you know, it's tough from one end.

TIM HENMAN: No, not at all. I think it's difficult perhaps for you to understand if you're not playing out there. It's happening pretty quickly. I think, you know, definitely that match point I wouldn't have played any differently. That was a first serve. As I'd been the whole match, I was aggressive, I took it on. He hit a great passing shot. He has very little margin for error on that shot. Downwind, if he slightly miss-hits it, you know, it's going to be out. But he hit a good passing shot. I still did well to get to the volley, but I couldn't quite control it.

TIM HENMAN: I don't think I can have too many complaints the way I played. I had my game plan. I knew what my game plan should be, if I was going to give myself a chance of beating Andre. I went out there and executed. At the end of the day, it wasn't quite good enough.

TIM HENMAN: Not really. I think the general direction of the wind is slightly into that corner. I'd been hitting my slice serve wide to the deuce box pretty effectively and consistently. I perhaps didn't quite serve as well to the ad box as I did to the deuce box. That probably wasn't quite such an easy serve.

TIM HENMAN: It's been a very solid start. I've spoken before at length about how I felt this was Phase II. You know, there's still a long, long way to go. I realize that my game's moving in the right direction, but I've got to make sure that that continues. I've been working hard off the court. If you're going to do that, I've always believed that the results will come on the court. I've got to make sure I continue that.