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Henman's fading dream It's now or never for British No. 1
Posted: Wednesday June 21, 2000 03:51 PM
The crowds at Wimbledon will again be yearning for a British men's winner, but Tim Henman is unlikely to fit the bill at the 2000 All England Championship. Not since Fred Perry in 1936 has a British male lifted tennis's most prestigious trophy. And, despite impressive semifinal appearances in the past two years, Henman is destined to fall short once again. It's not that the Oxfordshire right-hander doesn't have the game to reign supreme on the grass-courts in southwest London. He most certainly does. He moves well, has one of the best serves in tennis backed by crisp volleys and has improved his strength and fitness.
But Henman comes into Wimbledon this year with a string of disappointing results and his confidence low. That, combined with the intense pressure caused by the burden of expectation and the accompanying media circus, is unlikely to bring out the best in the eighth seed. Now approaching his 26th birthday, the wiry right-hander is no longer a promising youngster who has many more Wimbledons to fulfill his dream of winning his home Grand Slam. This year's draw hasn't been kind to Henman. After playing Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan, he is likely to face three-time finalist Goran Ivanisevic in the second round. Even though the aging Croatian is clearly a shadow of his former self, he defeated Mark Philippoussis at the Queen's Club tournament and is primed for one last hurrah at Wimbledon. Henman's Queen's Club experience was far less encouraging. After a bye in the first round he lost to American qualifier Bob Bryan in straight-sets. And then in another grass-court warm-up event in Nottingham, Henman was ousted in the first round by Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman. Despite his 25-14 record this season, Henman has lost six of his last 12 matches to fall to equal 14th in the ATP Champions' Race. There's no doubt that, even with six Wimbledon titles behind him, Pete Sampras is far from a sure thing to win this year. His surprising loss to Australian teenager Lleyton Hewitt in the Queen's final exposed his frailties. If the unseasonably warm weather continues in Britain, the men's singles at Wimbledon could be one of the most open championships in years. Hard, dry courts are good news for baseliners like Hewitt, Gustavo Kuerten and Magnus Norman and reduce the advantage of athletic serve-and-volleyers like Sampras, Henman and Patrick Rafter. It's another factor that could conspire against the likeable British number-one. Along with the likes of Ivanisevic, Marcelo Rios and Cedric Pioline, Henman could well be remembered as a great player who never won a grand-slam title. Jason Dasey is an anchor for World Sport, a 30-minute international sports highlights and news program, broadcast live on CNN International and CNN/SI.
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