The Common Tim (Lat. Henmanus Crapus)

The Uncyclopedia has a little fun with Timmy Henman:
Tim Spotters are characterised primarily by their patriotic clothing, a monocle and the presence of a St. George's cross painted onto their face. ... They can be seen annually for up to one week in July, often consuming strawberries and cream and Pimms as they attempt to spot a Tim, ungainly flapping its wings frantically. They are very excitable, and like to boast, announcing at the top of their voice the obligatory cry of Common Tim! when they see one. In a domino-like effect, this rouses fellow Tim-spotters who in turn shout and sometimes begin a Mexican Wave. Eventually, the Tim, wary of the expectation placed upon it, simply gives up in true Britus Underachievium fashion.

Here's the full entry, with bits on Murrayus Highlandius and Gregulrius Canadianus Druggius.

Wimbledon Day 3: Great Wins: Federer, Baghdatis

You can, of course, get all the results and wraps here from wimbledon.org; this post is about the excellent wins of the day.

Federer d. Henman 6-4 6-0 6-2

Well, Federer massacred Timmy Henman on Center Court. Henman played a spirited first set but then Roger dissected him in an absolutely gorgeous butchering. I think Roger is annoyed at all the heat he's been taking about his shaky week at Halle, his brutal draw, and the size of his balls, and he's ready to prove himself by belittling the naysayers and his opponents with dazzling play. Just beautiful to watch today. (He wore the damn jacket again, though--donned it last minute with a wry smile at Tim, lol.). It was almost like interpretive dance--Henman being ritually sacrificed on Center Court in front of a sea of British public. Somehow it was all very fitting. Here's a match summary.

Baghdatis d. Mackin

6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 6-2

More theater from Court 3: 2nd tier Scot Alan Mackin almost had the win of his career as Marcos Baghdatis vomited, struggled with groin and back strains and took multiple injury timeouts during the 4+ hour, epic match. Here's a match summary.

Any other great wins?

McEnroe on Henman-Federer, Murray, Roddick

Call me crazy, but I think Henman has a shot (Henman thinks so, too). Henman still leads their head-to-head 6-4 and was the guy who knocked Federer out right after he took out Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 2001. Roger has said that the way to beat him is at the net. That's Henman's game when he plays it (he didn't play it as much against Soderling) and this is Henman's surface and crowd. Sure Center Court may belong to Roger, but the country belongs to Tim.

John McEnroe on Wimbledon(BBC) /John McEnroe on Roddick (LA Times)

Wimbledon Draws are Out!: The Men

And ouch, what a draw it is. Federer's basically got most of the high-end grass courters in his quarter. Gasquet in the first round, or for all you Gasquet fans (myself included), Gasquet's got Federer. Roger could face Timmy Henman in the second round, and Tommy Haas, who just gave Roger trouble in Halle, in the 4th round. Red hot Mario Ancic and iron-serve Ivo Karlovic are at the bottom of Federer's quarter. Nalbandian or Blake in the semis. Sure, you can't bet against Roger, but wow, this is a tough draw.

Nalbandian's draw looks pretty straightforward until Blake in the quarters, but Poor Andy Roddick (and Marat Safin) are in Lleyton Hewitt's section. Andy Murray's in there, too.

Agassi's in Nadal's portion of the draw, so is Feliciano Lopez, his buddy and Wimbledon housemate who made the quarters last year (first Spaniard in 33 years to do so). F-Lo has been having a dismal year and drawing Ivan Ljubicic in the opening round won't necessarily help matters.

ETA: Player Reaction to the Draw

Nice Henman Profile

Tim Henman: Back in shape and happy to be cast as dangerous outsider

There is a spring in the step once more, a glint in the eye. Heavens, if Tim Henman were an extrovert a strut might even be on the cards. The reasons for the good cheer are simple: Britain's finest post-war Wimbledon performer declares his ailing back is behaving and his form right now is, to purloin his own description, "fantastic". Read On...

Ivanisevic on Murray, Nadal, Wimbledon

Goran talks about his Wimbledon run, Rafael Nadal, Tim Henman, and Andy Murray. Choice quote:

Ivanisevic ... thinks criticism of the 19-year-old Murray's sometimes surly behaviour and level of fitness, blamed for his physical problems, is unreasonable.

'It's easy to criticise,' says Ivanisevic. 'In Britain, as soon as you do something good and then start to play a little better they give you shit. He's young and is going to have ups and downs. When someone's not playing too well you can find a hundred mistakes, but when he's playing good he's perfect. It's very easy to find mistakes.'

Read the article.

*Photo from http://www.goranonline.com/

Friday Interviews: Queen's and Halle

Here's Federer's post-Rochus interview, and Nadal's, Hewitt's, Roddick's and Henman's from Queen's.

Queen's Club Transcripts

Hurray for Queen's Club! Not only is Stella Artois a great beer, they've also put up a great website. They've got full transcripts of post-match interviews (as well as audio clips). Here are Rafal Nadal after defeating Mardy Fish, Lleyton Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis on their wins, Andy Murray on getting the early boot, Andre Agassi after the loss to Henman, and defending champ Andy Roddick on his 3-set scare.

And here's the archive.

Goran Backs Henman and Ancic for Wimbledon

Goran Ivanisevic picks his countryman Mario Ancic as 2nd favorite at Wimbledon and defends Tim Henman's chances.

On Tim: "I call him the 'professor' of tennis. OK, maybe he's in his 30s now, but I was nearly 30 when I won. No-one gave me a chance, but I came, and I won. If Tim is ready I fancy his chances." Read the Story

Henman Lashes Out at Organizers

Choice quote:

Henman hit out at the tournament officials for suspending the match because of bad light. "It was just a shambles," said Henman, who was warned for swearing in the second set yesterday, before the match was postponed. "The decision-making was non-existent. I think the darkest point was at the beginning of the second set. I wanted that quantified - what is good light, what is bad light? Read the story

There have got to be around 50 Ticked Off Timmy/Hapless Henman stories out there today, but this one has the best headline: ANGRY HENMAN ON THE BRINK

Hmm, this one is pretty good, too: Russian scourge turns Henman hopes to dust

French Open Update: England, Baghdatis and Grosjean Out

A handful of upsets already today. The genial French No. 1 Sebastian Grosejean was taken out in a delayed, 5-set match by Argentine qualifier Vassallo Arguello. French wildcard Julien Benneteau took out Marcos Baghdatis in 5. And Dmitry Tursunov took out Britain's last hope Tim Henman,  in a delayed 4-setter, despite the fact that "clay is for girls."

Other News: Justine Henin-Hardenne, Lleyton Hewitt, Ana Ivanovic, Anastasia Myskina, Tommy Robredo and his ex-girlfriend Gisela Dulko, Olivier Rochus, Martina Hingis' boytoy Radek Stepanek, Dominik Hrbaty, Daniela Hantuchova, slayer of Roddick Albert Martino, and Shenay Perry are also through.

Henman and Murray Ad

At least we know Tim Henman has a sense of humor.

From The Daily Record: Sorry Old Bean, It's Tim To Go

HE'S officially Britain's top ennisstar- and yesterday Andy Murray proved he's also an advertiser's dream.

In February, the Scots teenager replaced English hero Tim Henman as Britain's top tennis player.

And yesterday, the two got together for an ad for Robinson's Barley Water.

Tim Henman Interview

From The Guardian: First & Last: Tim Henman

...Last time you met the Queen?

I've met her only once, when I received my OBE in July 2004. I don't think she's a big tennis fan, more into the horses. It was amazing to go to the palace. There were 108 people getting awards that day from all different walks of life. I'm sure they'd done fantastically well, but I had to laugh when one guy stepped forward for services to the Inland Revenue!

Henman Breaks Six-Year Losing Streak Against Hewitt

From The Independent: New Henman finally cracks Hewitt code

Tim Henman beat Lleyton Hewitt. It is a sentence Henman probably thought he might never read after eight successive defeats against the Australian, but the 31-year-old Briton finally got his man here yesterday in the second round of the Nasdaq-100 Open, winning 7-6, 6-3 after a contest lasting an hour and three-quarters. No wonder he clenched his fist in celebration.

Henman Talks About Possible Retirement

It sounds like Tim Henman is gradually starting to face his unhappy physical reality. 

You just can't compensate for a chronic back injury and at this point in his career and life there's really no point to him continuing under these circumstances.

But I don't begrudge him keeping it up until he's absolutely convinced he can no longer go - there's nothing worse than retiring wondering if you could have done more.

From The Guardian: Henman backs Murray amid growing talk of retirement

Henman admitted yesterday that he will "call it a day" if his form and fitness do not improve. "Call it unfinished business but I need to know, once and for all, whether my body and mind will let me play on. If they do I've got two or three years left. If they don't then I'll be calling it a day. It's not a decision I have to make now but I've set myself targets and if I don't reach them then, come the end of the year, I'll be saying: 'Thanks very much, I'm getting out of here'.

Henman Forced to Pull out of Marseille

It's beginning to look, unfortunately, like Tim  Henman's back may force him into a premature retirement.

Somehow I feel much worse for him than I do for Andre Agassi.  Agassi can retire tomorrow and rest on his laurels, but Henman will always feel like he had unfinished business.

From Reuters: Henman pulls out of Marseille Open with back problem

Briton Tim Henman has pulled out of the Marseille Open because of a sore back, organisers said on Monday.

"I wouldn't have been able to play at 100 per cent. I'd rather not take the chance. I still hope I can play in Rotterdam next week," the 31-year-old said.

"It's only the second time in my career that I have had to withdraw before the start of an event and the first time was also in Marseille."

Henman's Season Over

Tim Henman has withdrawn from the BNP Paris Masters with a new injury, putting a merciful end to this disaster of a season for him.

From Henman's newsletter:

"Unfortunately, my season has come to a disappointing end as I've been forced to withdraw from the BNP Paribas Masters after picking up another injury. Doctors have confirmed that I've fractured the cartilage of my first rib, which happened during my first round loss to Andy Murray in Basel.

"I didn't feel anything during my match with Andy but the next morning I woke up and knew I was in trouble. I went for a couple of scans here in Paris that eventually revealed the problem, and I've been told that it will probably take between two to three weeks for me to recover."

His official site has a bit more.  Henman does say he plans to play a full schedule next season as usual.

Tim Henman Article

From Reuters: Henman optimistic about the future

Tim Henman is full of optimism as his wretched tennis season draws to a close, believing that the back problems that have robbed him of success and enthusiasm for the game could be over.

The 31-year-old Henman, who is in danger of losing his British number one ranking to a resurgent Greg Rusedski or rising teenager Andy Murray, admits that the constant back pain he has suffered this season has made life a struggle.

With the added distraction of a young family, he no longer enjoyed the competition and laboured to find the motivation he needed to work through the pain.

Henman's Comeback Lasts Only One Round

From Fox Sports Australia: Happier Henman finds hope

TIM Henman's attempt to rescue his faltering career has hit a disappointing bump.

But he was delighted to have finished a two-and-a- half-hour match at 2am (local time) without feeling he was still carrying an injury.

Henman was beaten - for the first time - 6-7 7-6 6-1 by world No.15 Radek Stepanek from the Czech Republic at the CA-BA Trophy here.

Tim Henman - Future Davis Cup Captain?

Since it's apparently illegal to have a Davis Cup week in Britain without hearing from Tim Henman, The Times has obliged us with a story: Henman wants captaincy - but not yet

A FUTURE Davis Cup captain? Tim Henman wants that. Is retirement a realistic option next year for the British No 1, if his world ranking slips even farther? Henman does not go that far...

“I can definitely see myself being the Davis Cup captain,” he said. “I feel you need a bit of a generation gap. To captain those players you played with — I don’t know whether that works quite so well. But it’s certainly something I’m looking at down the road.”

Henman's Back Injury Flares Up Again

Tim Henman is starting to do a fair imitation of Andre Agassi: older tennis player struggles with a chronic and debilitating injury that keeps him from competing regularly on tour but refuses to consider retirement.  But whether Henman has an Agassi-like U.S. Open performance left in him remains to be seen.

Henman's back stiffened up on him again and as a result he has been forced to withdraw from the Thailand Open.

His website has his official statement: New setback for Henman

"I'm bitterly disappointed," explained the 31-year-old.

"Things were going well and I was really looking forward to getting back on the match court.

"I'd eased back into it and I was playing and training hard and then suddenly I suffered an adverse reaction on Tuesday and my back stiffened up completely.

Tim Henman

Tim Henman is in with his post-mortem on his U.S. Open experience:

"Since losing in New York last week specialists have told me to rest my back, and that's what I now intend to do in the short-term. My trip to the US was disappointing but I don't see that there's much to be gained by getting too down about it. I was a bit unfortunate to get injured in Cincinnati and my back has been great for months now, so it was frustrating that it flared up again just before the US Open. However, if I can get healthy again I still have a handful of tournaments to compete in this year and I want to do as well as I possibly can in those."

Even Tim doesn't sound too optimistic about his chances for the rest of the year. 

Tim Henman Retirement Speculation

John Lloyd doesn't claim to have any inside information, but that isn't stopping him from speculating about Tim Henman's future to BBC Radio: Henman may quit next year - Lloyd

"I can't see Tim Henman as the sort of player who hangs around the tennis circuit ranked 30 or 40 in the world," Lloyd told BBC Radio Five Live.

"If by this time next year he's still hovering around that area and hasn't been a threat, then I have a feeling next year will be his last."

Henman Out

Has Tim Henman gotten old suddenly or what?  He followed up his early round Wimbledon loss with a first round loss last week at the Legg Mason, and now today a first round loss to Dominik Hrbaty in Montreal. 

He's not sweating it yet.  "It's frustrating," he said. "I haven't played that much tennis and that many matches.  I'd love to be winning and getting on a roll, but I'm not putting any extra pressure on myself.  It certainly hasn't shown in my results yet, but I'm a big believer the hard work you put in will pay off somewhere down the line."

I'm doubtful, but then until last week I thought Agassi was washed up too.

Murray and Henman

It sounds like we shouldn't expect to see a rivalry develop between British stalwart Tim Henman and new gun Andy Murray.  Murray is Henman's biggest admirer at the moment.  "I got a text message wishing me all the best from Tim Henman just after he had lost in the second round and I'd won.  I though that was a brilliant gesture.  It showed the type of person he is," said Murray.

Henman Post-Mortem - But Why Did He Lose?

From The Times: Absence of authority crushes last glimpse of hope

FOR the past ten years, Tim Henman has had everything you need to win Wimbledon. Everything but one. He has a spiteful serve, he can volley like God, he can play with power and strength and guile from the back of the court. He can rise to an occasion, he can surf the emotion of a match and find increasing strength in the increasing intensity, when many find the exact opposite.

He loves to play big matches in front of big crowds and finds the best of himself at Wimbledon, when the entire nation is baying and praying for him. All that should have been enough for a win here, but for the one missing element in the Henman game — in the Henman nature.

And it’s authority. Henman very seldom exerts authority over a tennis match. He doesn’t boss an occasion. He never says: I’m in control, leave it to me. That’s why so many of his matches have been hard and bitter dramas. True, many of them ended in victory.

But it’s never been easy.

McEnroe on Henman's Defeat

I really hate it when John McEnroe starts sounding reasonable, but here he goes again (speaking to the BBC): John McEnroe on Wimbledon

I really thought Tim Henman was going to go on and win when he saved those two match points.

Once he broke back, he had all the momentum and I thought he had a great chance to win.

But Dmitry Tursunov showed a lot of heart and character and he played extremely well.

And as the match progressed, Tim's movement became more sluggish and it was pretty clear that Tursunov was the fresher of the two players.

So where did it go wrong?

The British Really Are Tough on Henman

The British press has apparently had enough of the French Open and turned to the grass court season.  The London Line starts out by, naturally, putting down Tim Henman: Mauling Tiger Tim

"Everyone thinks Tim Henman is a choker. He's not. In fact, his main problem is a lot, lot worse than that. Put quite simply, his tennis just isn't good enough...

Tim's game is outdated. His tennis exists in a time warp; he plays a wooden racket game with modern technology. Take him back to the sixties and he might well have won Wimbledon. But no longer."

Wimbledon Balls

Tim Henman may never win Wimbledon, but he does have pull over there.   As per his request yesterday, tennis ball cans will not be opened a week before Wimbledon. 

"Although we have continually been advised by Slazenger that this not would make any difference to the balls' playing properties, we had nevertheless decided in April this year that we would adopt the policy of opening the cans of new balls on court," said a Wimbledon official. 

Very like Wimbledon.  They insist there's nothing wrong, but offer to fix it anyway.  Pretty funny. 

Funniest Controversy of the Day

So when should tennis balls be released from their cans?  This is what was bugging Tim Henman today because he's just recently discovered that the balls at Wimbledon are removed from their pressurized cans a week before the tournament.

"I always felt like it was getting slower and slower at Wimbledon," Henman said.

"I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I'd spoken to them [All England Club] about the courts ... you know, they've gone to their ryegrass.

"I asked [manufacturer] Slazenger about the balls. I started to ask some questions.

"As it turns out, Slazenger came back to me and said, 'Well, all the balls for Wimbledon are delivered not in a pressurized can.'

"So then I spoke to Wimbledon, and Wimbledon said they open all the balls 'about' a week before the tournament. I think that might have a part to play in why you feel like you're using flat balls after four or five games. 

"It's obviously one of the most bizarre things I've ever heard of. But they said certainly for the last couple of years there they've opened the balls, you know, a couple of weeks before the tournament.

"So you can imagine, by the time you get through to the second week...they look nice and new, and then they're basically flat."

I do see how that could affect play, but it sure does sound silly. 

Tim Henman's Draw

Tim Henman caught a bit of luck when his first round opponent Potito Starace (who nearly defeated Marat Safin last year - the blister match) pulled out with an ankle injury and was replaced by #147th ranked Argentine Juan Pablo Brzezicki who's never won a match on the main tour. 

"The only thing I know about him is that his name is tricky to write," said Henman.

Tim Henman Article

The Guardian has a fairly extensive interview with Tim Henman in which he discusses his continuing poor relationship with the British press:

"I feel like I'm bitching and moaning too much," Tim Henman says with a laugh as bitter as it is blunt. "But there's this perception that I'm a failure. I usually don't give that crap a moment's thought but, seeing as we're talking about it, there are 128 guys in [next week's] French Open and only one of them will end up winning the tournament. What about the other 127 players? Are they all 'losers'? I've been rated this year as the fourth best player on the planet. If that's your idea of failure, then fine . . ."

Maria Sharapova, Tim Henman Videoclips

Eurosport is feeling very generous with the videoclips this week.  They've added a videoclip of a very sleepy looking Maria Sharapova discussing possibly becoming number one in the near future as well as a long videoclip of Tim Henman discussing his year so far and preparations for Roland Garros.

Henman and the BBC

I stopped by the BBC website again today to see the live game-by-game written coverage of Tim Henman's 6-3, 6-2 victory over Nicolas Massu.  My favorite: "Massu's consistent service length gives him an early advantage but Henman takes it to deuce via a fortuitous netcord and a fine forehand, before the Chilean takes it with an agile, outstretched volley."  Oh, to be British.

New Tim Henman Article

The Times has a great article on Tim Henman.  It somehow manages to be both an analysis of Tim Henman and the British national character at the same time.  It seems the British think Henman is a "national symbol of failure"!  At least the reporter has the sense to wring his hands about that.

Why Does the British Press Seem to Have More Fun When Henman and Rusedski Lose?

From The Guardian: British duo quickly bite the dust

Tim Henman's gloriously unpredictable run to the semi-finals of last year's French Open was marked by two extraordinary comebacks from two sets down against the Frenchmen Cyril Saulnier and Michael Llodra. And so it was that expectations rose sharply yesterday morning when, having trailed Argentina's Mariano Zabaleta 6-4, 2-1 overnight, Henman squared his first-round match in the Monte Carlo Masters and took a 2-1 lead in the third and deciding set.

But on this occasion that was as good as it got. The British No1 lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 and, for the first time since he made his debut here in 1998, when playing on clay was largely an unsolved mystery from him, he failed to win his first match.

Tim Henman in Monte Carlo

From The Times: Monaco give chance to repeat last year's feat of clay

TIM HENMAN is back on clay this week where, first exposed in 1998, he was a lamb to the slaughter and, six years on, remarkable events happened. What the spring of 2005 holds is yet another of the intriguing elements shaping the British No 1’s future.

When he left the Monte Carlo Country Club a year ago, had someone told Henman he was to become a French Open semi-finalist, he would have offered an incredulous look.

Also from The Times: Henman's one-man show goes on

TIM HENMAN has been around the block enough times to be certain of one reaction to any talk of spending five more years at the top of tennis — somewhere between sniggering and open derision. It hurts but it will not deter him. “Andre Agassi is 35 in a couple of weeks’ time and he’s allowed to keep challenging himself, so, at 30-and-a-half, why aren’t I?” Henman said. He knows that the answer is the defining element of his place in Britain’s sporting mainstream.

Tim Henman on Roger Federer

This may be taking proper British manners too far.  Now featured on Tim Henman's website is a two-part interview with Tim, not about himself, but about what makes Roger Federer such a fantastic player.  I know they're friends, but still...  Part One and Part Two.

Federer Defeats Henman

From The Times: Henman no match for supreme Federer

AS FORTY-FIVE of the past 46 opponents unfortunate enough to have crossed paths with Roger Federer have found, so Tim Henman was reminded yesterday that there is a world of difference between believing you have the strategy to pierce the armour of the world No 1 player and putting that strategy into practice armed with anything more than a racket and a prayer.

Henman will keep on trying, but this match fizzled out the moment he lost his serve to trail 3-2 in the second set. It may have crossed the world No 7’s mind near the end that he should consider retiring before his time because he is one of a few still to have a winning head-to-head record against Federer, but that won’t last very long should they meet many more times

Tim Henman

Tim Henman accidentally let a cat out of the bag at the end of his press conference about the "Ljubicic-Llodra Locker Room Caper" :

Q. Are you worried Michael Llodra will be in your locker?

TIM HENMAN: Pretty impressive (smiling). I saw a picture of it, actually. How he got in there, I don't know. But there's a while to go. I think he'll be in Federer's locker next.

Q. How can you get hold of this picture?

TIM HENMAN: I can, but I don't think you can.

Tim Henman Video Clip

Eurosport has a videoclip of Tim Henman talking about the talent scouting program that has been started to find British youngsters with tennis talent: We need depth