|
|
| |
| ||
| ||
|
|
 Happy home fans It wasn't easy, but local hero Henman reaches Final 16
Posted: Saturday June 27, 1998 02:58 PM
LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) -- A fiercely partisan Wimbledon crowd cheered local hero Tim Henman as he marched to within one step of his third consecutive quarter final at Wimbledon on Saturday. Zimbabwe's Byron Black was the lonely loser on the Centre Court as the British crowd helped the 12th seeded Henman to a 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory, earned over two days at rain-soaked Wimbledon. On Friday night Henman competed with the England soccer side for British pride when he raced to a 6-4, 3-2 lead over a player he had not beaten in two previous attempts. His natural grass-court game combined with the fervor of the crowd to make the first set a stroll for Henman, whose serve-and-volley tactics unsettled a player far more accustomed to staying on the baseline. But when play resumed on Saturday Black returned a different player and although he could not repair the damage to the second set, he took the first three games of the third. Henman had the break points to get back into the match but his fans were disappointed to see the familiar sight of their favorite making heavy work of a quite simple task. A fifth set looked inevitable when Black broke in the fourth and took a 5-4 lead but umpire Bruno Rebeuh awarded Henman the benefit of the doubt with a disputed line call to give him the break he needed. Black was clearly disheartened by the decision and Henman reaped the rewards, taking the next two games to his own and the majority of Wimbledon's delight. "It's definitely getting better," said Henman. "I was really pleased with the way that I played aggressively from the word go. "Black was dominating the game when he was 5-3 up in the fourth but once I started being aggressive, it changed very quickly. Suddenly instead of serving for two sets all he was serving to stay in the match. In that situation you have got to keep the pressure on, and that's just what I did. "I'm now in the last 16 and you can't have too many complaints about that, because it hasn't been easy. I still think I can improve in a few areas but I know on my day I'm capable of beating anyone." Henman now meets Pat Rafter, another favorite with the local ladies. Rafter has a point to prove, after Henman beat him on his home turf in the Australian Open.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Terms under which this service is provided to you.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
