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WIMBLEDONJune 28, 2007Tim HenmanLONDON, ENGLAND THE MODERATOR: Questions for Tim. Q. How will you look back on this year's Wimbledon experience for you? TIM HENMAN: Yeah, obviously highs and lows. The first match speaks for itself. I guess the second one does, as well. You know, it was a very difficult match. You know, the first two sets I felt like I was just playing pretty solid, and I felt like, you know, every moment, you know, he needed something to happen, he was able to make it happen. You play two sets like that with no breaks, you just got to keep hanging in there. I did. I felt like his level would drop. I didn't think he would maintain it. You know, it showed in the latter part of the third and fourth. His game, you know, dropped considerably. I just kept, you know, staying positive and trying to give myself as many opportunities as I could. But, you know, then when you get into the fifth, you've got to try and maintain that momentum. You know, suddenly he just hits two or three good shots in one game and he's in the driving seat. Q. You never gave up. Did you feel you could actually go on and win? TIM HENMAN: Absolutely. You're down two sets to love you're not in a great position, but I really felt like my game was there. If anything, I could play a little bit better. I really did believe that he wouldn't keep playing like that. In that respect I was right. You know, I kept believing I could turn it around. I got back to two sets all, which was obviously a much better position. But the early part of the fifth, he hit a couple of good shots at the right time. That certainly made life difficult for me. Q. Did you feel that you turned off a little bit at the start of the fifth? TIM HENMAN: No, no. I've been playing this game long enough to know that, you know, when you've got back into a match like that it's going to be an important moment. Because even though I had broken him four times, you know, I was down a break early in the third set. I'd broken him four times. But it's almost like you'd like to save a couple of those and get one break in each set and try and have one of those in the fifth. As I said, it's certainly not through lack of concentration or intensity at that moment. Unfortunately, you know, a couple of good shots by him to break my serve. I never really got a look in on his serve after that. Q. Did he get under your skin? TIM HENMAN: When? Q. Did he get under your skin with something he did out there? TIM HENMAN: A couple of his backhands. You know, when you see them hit the fence quite regularly, then all of a sudden one finds the line at 15-All in the second game of the fifth, it's frustrating. But that's the nature of his -- that's why he can be effective on grass. There's a little bit of uncertainty. His serve is a great shot. He obviously relies heavily on that. That's why from my point of view you've got to really stay aware and just be patient for your opportunities because it can be very up and down with him. The first two sets, I think looking back on it, my best chance was the second game of the match; I had a breakpoint then. Besides that, there was very few opportunities going around. That's why even when you're down two sets to love, I didn't really feel like I'd done too much wrong. Hadn't lost my serve. You have to stick in there with the belief you can turn it around. For the next two sets, I did that, but not the last one. Q. What was the gesture you made when you let the ball go long? TIM HENMAN: I don't know. I don't remember. I mean, there were a couple of times I wanted to look at him a little bit longer to see if he's going to get frustrated, see how he's dealing with things mentally, to see if he's going to get down. If that's what happened, then that's what it was. Q. Do you expect to be back here next year? TIM HENMAN: Absolutely. Q. What were your own expectations from this year's Wimbledon? TIM HENMAN: Yeah, that's a good question. I felt like my game, the way I've played, is not too far off sort of breaking through and getting into the second week. I think that was probably the objective. I look at the stats. We played 306 points and we're even. It's obviously highlighted on grass that you've got to try and win the right ones at the right time. Yeah, that's frustrating. But, you know, I will reflect on the two matches I played, and certainly the Moya one. That's the tennis I want to play more regularly, and there's no reason why I can't do that. As I said, I'm not going to play forever, but I'm passionate about what I do. I love what I do. I want to make the most of it. Q. Are there any other sportsmen that you look at in terms of inspiration in terms of going on? TIM HENMAN: Not really, no. I'm involved in an individual sport. Sometimes you can view it slightly selfishly. I know what I want. I think it's important to maintain that. Certainly that will be the way I'll approach things going forward. Q. You obviously have to look at yourself. Does it depress you you're the last British player out of the singles, only on Thursday afternoon? TIM HENMAN: Yeah, it's depressing. But, you know, it's reality. That's where we're at. I think for years we've been far too accepting of mediocrity. I think you look at the some of the players, they need a little bit of a wake-up call to realize the level of play and their competition worldwide is very, very high. I think their expectations from the LTA are too high. The players view almost they're entitled to have their coaches paid for, their coach's salary, their coach's expenses paid for when they're travel. That's not reality. We're very, very fortunate that the Federation has money they're able to invest in it. There's a lot of players that I don't think warrant that. I think with the structure that's been put in place, we have to sort of be a little bit more ruthless and wipe the slate clean and start, you know, really targeting the younger ones because that is going to be our future. If we are really passionate and determined to compete at this type of tournament, at this level on the tour week in and week out, that's what we have to do. Q. Do you believe some of your British players realize the storm that's coming? TIM HENMAN: You know, I don't think it necessarily has to be -- it's not necessarily a storm. I think it's just a reality. If you're viewing it as a business, the LTA are obviously going down a different approach right now. You know, they're not going to invest - I wouldn't have thought - in people they don't believe have prospects. It's always, you know, there's talk about wildcards, and it's a great example. You know, wildcards, they're a fantastic opportunity. But if you're any good, you don't need wildcards. You get one at 17, 18. It's an opportunity for you to experience it. But if you're any good, in a couple of years you should be looking to get into these events on your ranking. I think, you know, the players get very shortsighted March-April time. It's this thoroughfare for who's going to be positioning themselves to get these opportunities. I think, again, that's another example of what we've got to get away from. Q. On the last breakpoint when the ball floated over your head, was it sort of a terrible feeling? TIM HENMAN: When I saw it bounce, it wasn't great. Q. Did you have a play on it? TIM HENMAN: Not really. I mean, I think that was a reflection on the conditions. I think when it's windy but it's coming in one direction, it's not that difficult. But when it's swirling like that, it really can change the sort of direction of the ball by three or four feet. When you just don't know whether the ball is flying with the wind or against the wind, then it's difficult. But it's one of those where, you know, I don't really think I had a great play on it. I was hoping it was going to land the other side of the line, but it didn't. Q. Is Henman Hill still going to stay Henman Hill now? TIM HENMAN: If you keep writing about it, it will (smiling). Q. Did you have something to prove to yourself or anybody else coming in? TIM HENMAN: I've always got something to prove to myself, no doubt. Q. Did you achieve what you wanted? TIM HENMAN: Yes and no. I mean, second round is not something that I'm particularly proud of, don't get me wrong. I look at my performance against Moya, the way I played in that environment. Absolutely, I'm very proud of that. So, yeah, it's difficult to really quantify. It's the same old story: What is success? You know, today it wasn't very successful. But I want to try and build on it a little bit and see what happens for the second half of the year. Q. Did the Moya performance convince you to go on longer? TIM HENMAN: No, I don't think it has any bearing. Q. How would you assess your relationship with your fans? TIM HENMAN: My fans? I would assess it as being fantastic. I mean, I can't speak highly enough of them and the way that they support me, you know, the way they've always been. You know, again, it's like this is my home tournament and I'm very, very fortunate with that. I've played the vast majority of my matches on the show courts. It's incredible. There's no doubt that that has a part to play in me wanting to be out there and really cherish those moments because they're very, very special. You know, even today, down two sets to love, there was a lot of self-belief. But I still think there's a fair amount of belief in the stadium, and that helps to be able to turn situations around. Q. How are you going to replace that feeling that you get on Centre Court when the time comes? TIM HENMAN: I don't know. I mean, that just goes to show how special it is. You hear a lot of other athletes say it's irreplaceable, that type of experience out on the court. If you have the opportunity to do it, as I think I have, I wouldn't then turn it down. End of FastScripts |
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