ATP TOUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

November 14, 1997

Tim Henman

Q. Tim, could you just give us a rundown of your day?

TIM HENMAN: My day? Got up about eight o'clock this morning, had breakfast. I still wasn't quite a hundred percent sure of the final details of the day. Then I was playing my match at 11:00. I played Jamie. I won that, played pretty well. Then as soon as I finished that, did a press conference actually at 9:30 in the morning. Stated pretty much what was going to be happening for the day. I won the match. Then basically I just had a quick shower and then I left straight for the airport. Drove to Birmingham. Took about an hour and a quarter, I think, to get to the airport. Was driven onto the runway, which I thought was pretty cool. Got the bags out, put them on the jet, off we went. We arrived a couple of hours later at Hannover.

TIM HENMAN: What time did we get in? Half past four, five o'clock, I think. Five o'clock maybe.

TIM HENMAN: The airport.

TIM HENMAN: Half hour later, 5:30. Arrived, went straight on, had a hit with David for half an hour, out to food, then was ready to go.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it is. Yeah, not your average day. It's not something that happens, you don't play in two tournaments in a week. I have sort of mixed emotions. I feel like I sort of gate crashed this party. You know, I don't really feel that I deserve to be here. But, you know, I had the opportunity, and, once it was given to me, you know, I was there to take it. It is slightly odd circumstances. But, you know, that's not my fault. So, you know, I was just very happy to come here and play in what is the World Championships. I think it's plainly clear that next year I want to qualify, you know.

TIM HENMAN: I think it's pretty early actually.

TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I think so. The BBC have got rugby in the afternoon. I think they want me to kick things off.

TIM HENMAN: Sorry?

TIM HENMAN: No. I think it will be before that a bit. I'm not a hundred percent sure. I think it's relatively early.

TIM HENMAN: Whenever I want, JP (laughter).

TIM HENMAN: No, no. It's just I could get used to it. It's pretty expensive, but it was a lot of fun, the journey.

TIM HENMAN: Definitely not. I'm quite happy in London. It's been a lot of fun. What can I say? It's not normal, is it? I suppose it's normal for some people. It's not normal for me to jump on a private jet. It left when I arrived; I suppose it will leave when I'm ready again. It's been a pretty weird day. I've enjoyed it. To come away having won four sets without dropping any is pretty satisfying.

TIM HENMAN: No.

TIM HENMAN: Citation II.

TIM HENMAN: The new surface? Felt pretty good to me. Felt good to me. It's obviously been a very fair surface. It's fair to say last year was, you know, very, very fast, and dominated by the serve. I think I've -- I've watched some of the tennis on TV. I think it's been a very high standard. It hasn't always been dictated by the serve. You know, just when I arrived tonight, I watched some of the Bjorkman/Chang match. You know, I think the tennis there was as good as it gets.

TIM HENMAN: It's different, that's for sure. One is a World Championship, one is a national championship. You know, there's no reason to knock the Nationals. I think it's a very well-run event. You know, this is the biggest and the best.

TIM HENMAN: It was pretty full. It was quite full. I don't think you get the same number in Telford that you got here. I have no idea. 1,500 maybe.

TIM HENMAN: It's a great atmosphere. The times when I was, you know, just taking in the scene of it. I was obviously very relaxed. I had nothing to lose before the match. I think I found it a little bit awkward, actually, to get used to it to the single's court. I haven't played on a single's court since Grand Slam Cup, Munich. There were a couple occasions when I thought balls were going to go wide that actually dropped in. I think the way I served was the key to the match.

TIM HENMAN: This morning. I did, actually. I served really, really well this morning. I think I served 18 or 19 aces. That's the best I've served in a long while. I wondered whether I had any in reserve. I was hoping there would be a few big serves left in there. There obviously was. But, yeah, I think looking at the big picture, my serve can be very dominant, but it can be very inconsistent. That's something if I want to progress higher and if I want to make Hannover this time next year, it's something that has to be improved.

TIM HENMAN: Pardon?

TIM HENMAN: Yeah. I'll be heading back. I don't actually know who I play. I play the winner --

TIM HENMAN: Yes.

TIM HENMAN: I'm quite tired. I'm not really so tired from today's exploits, but, you know, I think it is a year, a long year catching up on me. I can definitely say that I'm looking forward to a couple weeks off.

TIM HENMAN: Eight.

TIM HENMAN: No. I mean, today, it's been a different day, but it's been a lot of fun. I wouldn't say it's been, you know, physically that draining. But, yeah, I think with the amount of tennis that I have played, I do feel a little bit jaded. In an atmosphere like that, it's always going to give you a huge lift.

TIM HENMAN: No. I think I played a pretty bad game. Then Yevgeny finally played a bad game on his own to give me back the break. It was just a question of trying to continue with the way I've been playing. I thought, you know, he was maybe going to start raising his game. But fortunately, you know, I sort of got the momentum going back with me. I hit some good serves at the right time, even if his service game at 4-All, I had a couple chances, couldn't take them. Then I got one very good opportunity. You know, I wasn't going to miss that one.

TIM HENMAN: I was asked in London, you know, about this. It definitely wasn't a financial reason for coming here. I said I'd make a donation. I haven't decided, but I will be donating, you know, a portion -- I don't actually know for sure what I get. I will be donating a portion.

TIM HENMAN: So, I don't know what I'm going to be donating. There to be a percentage that will go to a charity of my choice because I wanted to emphasize to people that this wasn't just, you know, a money-making opportunity. I wanted to come and be part of the World Championships. It's obviously good experience. If I come back in the future, I will know what it's all about.