THE LIPTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 21, 1999

Tim Henman

GREG SHARKO: First question for Tim.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah. I have no problem, when you need to go, you've got to go. But I think it disrupted the rhythm from my point of view. I felt like I'd done pretty well to turn things around. I think, yeah, that upset the momentum.

TIM HENMAN: There isn't a bathroom very near, but I can't think that it takes that long.

TIM HENMAN: Exactly.

TIM HENMAN: I felt like, yeah, it was a pretty -- a match that didn't have much rhythm from the tennis point of view and also in between points, in between games, it was pretty static. It was tough to find your rhythm. It's also tough with the conditions. It's not easy to play good tennis out there.

TIM HENMAN: It is mainly coming from one end, but it's going all over the place. But, you know, that's what you expect. It's been the same here for a number of years. It will be the same in the future. I dealt with it well last year. Today with his style of play and those conditions, I didn't perhaps adjust to it as well as I could have done.

TIM HENMAN: No, I don't think. It's his serve next game. From that point of view, if he takes nine or ten minutes, whatever you say it was, it's probably not the easiest game for him coming up. But having said that, I've got to be able to deal with it. I think it's fair to say it did upset my rhythm.

TIM HENMAN: No, I think, you know, the first three months of this year, there has been a little bit of a change. You know, I want to make sure I'm one of them. I've got to -- you know, in these tournaments, in the Slams, I've got to go, you know, keep winning. I had an opportunity last week in Indian Wells and didn't quite take it. You know, I've got to take my opportunities in these types of events.

TIM HENMAN: I don't know. I felt like at times the worse I played, the more I mixed it up, probably the harder he found it. I found when I was playing to a certain type of game, a certain type of rhythm, that probably suited him. In the second set, once I was a break down, I stayed back a little bit more and looped a few, then came in, you know, went a little more unexpectedly. That seemed to work. But you've got to be able to keep that going once you've got your chance, and I didn't do that.

TIM HENMAN: It's not really what I would have liked, no. I would have liked to have been here right until Saturday. I can go home and have a few days off and start getting prepared. But, no, I wanted to do well here first and foremost.

TIM HENMAN: Not exactly, no. I think you guys sort of take into account the way he looks. He's an unorthodox guy. But he's very, very effective. He's not 30 in the world or whatever for nothing. He won Dubai this year. But, no, I'm the first to admit I find it difficult to play that type of guy. You never quite know what to expect. Having said that, he's hitting a lot of good shots.

TIM HENMAN: It's more than that. I think in the men's, the depth is a lot greater than that. The standards are high, but the standards are very, very even. So if you're not a hundred percent on your game, you've got a good chance of losing.