Wimbledon 2002: Will Henman be the next?

'Of course I can win it. And I think I will'

Oh, to be Tim Henman, now that Wimbledon is here. The 27-year-old from Oxfordshire knows his detractors are waiting for him to lose his nerve, whether it be in the first round or the final, and that barbs like "choker," "bottler" and "wimp" are ready to be thrust into headlines.

"I'm lucky," he says. "I learned the lesson early on. I am probably oblivious to 99 per cent of the press. I don't bother reading it." He chuckles, and adds: "I heard a slightly rude quote the other day when I was playing golf: 'Opinions are like arseholes – everybody's got one.' And it's exactly that."

The British No 1 is about to commence his ninth Wimbledon adventure, having advanced to the semi-finals three times in the past four years, losing the first two against the great Pete Sampras and the third, agonisingly, to the amazing Goran Ivanisevic 12 months ago.

"There's a lot of focus on what I'm doing," Henman says, "and there's nothing I can do about that. If people say I haven't got the 'bottle', I haven't got the nerve, then if that's their opinion, that's fine. Does that mean it's true? I don't think you can achieve what I've achieved – like now, the fifth best on this planet at what I do – without winning some pretty good matches. You look at some of the matches I've won at Wimbledon, or in Davis Cup, or any week of the year. They don't get given up."

Henman's list of accomplishments lacks the embellishment of a Grand Slam singles championship, or even one of the ATP Tour's Masters Series titles. His critics admonish him for his failure to do himself justice at major events, and write him off as a near miss. He has had his opportunities at Wimbledon, and time and tennis wait for no man, unless he happens to be a Jaroslav Drobny or a Goran Ivanisevic, both of whom were blessed at the eleventh hour.

"What can I do about it if I'm going to get a lot of negative criticism in the press?" Henman counters. "Does it matter? I don't care. What do they know? [John] McEnroe will will be commentating, and he's been there. He's got an educated opinion. But as far as all these other people, opinions are like arseholes."

Your correspondent smiles wanly, shifts uncomfortably in his chair, and tries to curry favour (if that is an appropriate phrase) by reminding Henman that he was tipped to win the title in these columns last year and the same applies now. He is unmoved by the revelation.

Pressing on, it seems prudent to mention how level-headed the disappointed Henman appeared to be in the aftermath of that rain-delayed, five-set marathon against Ivanisevic.

"I think one of my characteristics is that I am pretty level-headed and I don't have big highs and lows," he says. "When things are going great, I'm pleased, but I just want to keep working hard and keep trying to improve my game. Likewise, when I've had difficult spells in my career, or I've lost a difficult match, I'm really disappointed, but I'm not going to suddenly lock myself away for a week and moan and mope about it.

"It was difficult after Wimbledon, especially because on the Sunday we only played four games. It definitely felt strange. I remember getting up on the Monday morning and there were about a dozen photographers outside our house. I had my breakfast and wandered out. 'What can I do for you?' I asked them. 'What do you guys need?'

"They were looking at me as if they expected me to break something, or lock myself in the house for three days. I told them if they wanted to take a picture, they could take it and then leave us in peace. I stood there while they took a picture that was probably no good to them, and they looked at me as if something else should be happening. I said: 'Look, I'm disappointed I lost, but it's done now. Good luck to Goran and Rafter in the final'."

Perhaps he was expected to come out with a coat over his head. "Exactly. I did my best. I'd love to change the result, but, in the circumstances, I wouldn't do anything different. I tried as hard I could. I played a good match. I felt like I was the better player, but it didn't go my way. I believe what is meant to be is meant to be, and it was definitely going to be Goran's year."

One thing Henman said before leaving Wimbledon last year was that in his heart he knew that one day he would win it. "I think I will," he affirms. "If you look at my career, I've never made a huge jump and then dropped down. It's been a steady improvement. I think that's probably to do with my personality, my commitment. If I can make the semis and come as close as I can to making the final, of course I can win it. And I think I will. But who knows?"

After a pause, he goes on: "I think what's kind of sad is that I'm probably judged too much on what happens at Wimbledon. If I win it, that's great. If I don't win Wimbledon in my career, then as long as I know that I've given 100 per cent, I won't have any regrets. And I think people sometimes have a tough time to understand that.

"I think it's much more of a focal point for you [press] guys and the way you perceive it. But I really don't look at it that way at all. It's my favourite time of the year, Queen's and Wimbledon. I'm staying at home. I'm playing on grass. I'm used to the surroundings. The expectations don't really come into it in the slightest. So I think you guys look at it as a burden, whereas I don't really give it a moment's thought. Because if I did think: 'I've got to win this,' or 'people here think I've got to win this,' then there's no way you could play."

This time last year, Henman was flying solo, approaching Wimbledon without his former coach, David Felgate, for the first time. He is about to make his latest challenge under the guidance of an American mentor, Larry Stefanki. "The reason why I've always been optimistic," Henman says, "is that every year since the first year I played Wimbledon I've always come in the following year a better player. And in the last 12 months I've probably made my biggest improvement."

When Henman started working with Stefanki, shortly before last year's United States Open, they both emphasised it would take time to make a difference to Henman's game, particularly since the intention was to develop his all-round skills without deviating too much from his natural attacking style.

The inconsistency of his first serve, a flaw capable of destabilising his entire game, has been addressed by fractionally reducing the speed of the delivery. "There's definitely been bigger changes to the serve than to certain other aspects of my game," Henman says. "I remember working on it in the States at the end of last year. To begin with, it felt pretty different. I could see what I was working towards, but I realised it would take a lot of work for it to become natural. I've been used to serving one way for so long. I've definitely got my serve to be more consistent, but I think I can become a lot more aggressive on it. There are still a lot of areas for improvement, but you've got to get the foundations in place before you can start building upwards."

There is no doubt that his game is tailored to the surface. "I feel very optimistic about my chances," he says. "I think, on grass, there are less genuine contenders. Obviously, there's Pete [Sampras]. Before, he was a clear favourite. Perhaps the gap has closed a lot, but with his record I still think you'd probably put him as the favourite. Then there's probably [Lleyton] Hewitt, [Andre] Agassi, myself, [Roger] Federer, Greg [Rusedski] if he's fit and healthy, [Andy] Roddick."

The 19-year-old Roddick is an exciting prospect, but is his game solid enough to win a major? "Be patient," Henman says. "I think people sometimes expect things to happen overnight. He's hardly played a full year."

Whatever Wimbledon and the rest of the tennis season may hold for Henman, he an his wife, Lucy, are due to be parents for the first time in October. Is there a particular piece of advice he would wish one day to pass on to the child?

"Whenever you're faced with a challenge, give it your best shot. There are loads of decisions you've got to make along the way, but that's definitely how I've approached my career, and that's how my father approached things, too. Try, whatever it's going to be. If you're going to play sport, try your best. If you're going to do whatever, give it your best."

Henman at Wimbledon

1994 (unseeded) 1st round: lost to Prinosil, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

1995 (unseeded) 2nd round: bt Wekesa, 7-6, 6-0, 6-4; lost to Sampras (2nd seed), 6-2, 6-3, 7-6.

1996 (unseeded) QF: bt Kafelnikov (5), 7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 4-6, 7-5; Sapsford, 6-1, 6-7, 6-0, 6-1; Milligan, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4; Gustafsson, 7-6, 6-4, 7-6; lost to T Martin (13), 7-6, 7-6, 6-4.

1997 (seeded 14) QF: bt Nestor, 7-6, 6-1, 6-4; Golmard, 7-6, 6-3, 6-3; Haarhuis, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 14-12; Krajicek (4), 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4; lost to Stich, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

1998 (seeded 12) SF: bt Novak, 7-6, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, 6-2; Nainkin, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2; B Black, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5; Rafter (6), 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2; Korda (3), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2; lost to Sampras (1), 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.

1999 (seeded 6) SF: bt Di Pasquale, 6-4, 6-0, 3-6, 7-6; Woodruff, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6; Grosjean, 6-1, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2; Courier, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7, 9-7; Pioline, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3; lost to Sampras (1), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

2000 (seeded 8) 4th round: bt Srichaphan, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3; Clement, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4; Arazi, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3; lost to Philippoussis (10), 6-1, 5-7, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.

2001 (seeded 6) SF: Derepasko, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1; M Lee, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4; Schalken, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3; T Martin, 6-7, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; Federer, 7-5, 7-6, 2-6, 7-6; lost to Ivanisevic, 7-5, 6-7, 0-6, 7-6, 6-3.

Numbers of seeded players in brackets