The heat of the matter

Tim Henman will not be afforded much time to reflect on the triumphs and defeat of the past fortnight at Wimbledon. Almost as the marquees are being dismantled, Henman, along with Luke Milligan, Mark Petchey, Neil Broad and Nick Gould, will be heading here to play in Great Britain's Davis Cup tie against Ghana.

There they are unlikely to be overwhelmed by the glare of world-wide television, but what they will face is a team motivated by pride and a little financial inducement. Should the Ghanaians overcome their British foe, each of their team will receive 50 per cent of the cost of a two- bedroom house.

Ghana won their last tie 5-0 against Malta in an event that was criticised by the international referee for including up to 50 questionable line calls. There were also suggestions that there were not enough practice courts available

David Lloyd and his team should have no problem overcoming those difficulties, but may find that their most potent opponent is the weather. They will be playing on hard courts at Accra sports stadium under a sun that ordinarily heats the capital city to 36C at this time of year.

And if Ghana, who do not have any players in the top 300, go through to the next round, the rewards will not end. Their prize for beating the winners of the Poland v Ivory Coast tie would be receiving the other half of their two-bedroom houses.