Tim Henman - In conversation
Tim Henman spent several years solely on Centre Court at the Wimbledon championships
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Friday, 19, Jun 2009 07:10
With the Wimbledon championships looming large, inthenews.co.uk's Alistair Potter speaks to former British number one Tim Henman about his past battles with 'Pistol' Pete Sampras, what he talks to Andy Murray about, and why Centre Court is the best tennis court in the world.
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InTheNews.co.uk: Hi Tim, how are you doing?
I'm fine, thank you. Are you well?
ITN: Yes, great thanks. Right, we thought we'd start at the beginning - how did you get started in tennis? Was it a fitness thing, was it luck or were you pushed into it early on then start enjoying the game itself?
Well, I was lucky that my parents played and I had two older brothers who played a bit too, so I was just following on from them really.
I played all sports growing up and for whatever reason tennis was the one I enjoyed the most and was best at. I was lucky that I made my one and only career decision when I was about 6, and decided I was going to play tennis!
ITN: Was it always in your mind to go pro? Was it down to the standard of your play compared to your brothers? And did you get support from your family in order to do that?
A lot of people ask whether I was pushed into the game because my parents played, but it wasn't like that at all - it was completely driven by me.
I had two older brothers and they played socially but never had aspirations to play professionally. I did.
ITN: Now you're retired, how much contact do you have with the other British players and the LTA? You're in contact with Andy Murray quite a lot, apparently?
I've known Andy for quite a long time - we've discussed quite a few different things, about his game and THE game if you like, and experiences I've had.
In this country my old coach Paul Annacone is working at the LTA so I keep in contact with him quite a lot and he fills me in on which of the young players are doing what so I'll always be involved.
I'm sure in the future I'll get more involved again, but having stopped playing professionally after so many years I've really enjoyed having the break away from the game, having time to spend with my family and have a few holidays.
ITN: It's interesting that you mention talking to Andy about his game, as well as other aspects of life as a pro tennis player. Do you think he seeks out your advice in particular because of your experiences - especially with regards to the British media at this time of year?
Yeah, I think so. I mean, there are a lot of things he's going through - or has been through - that I've experienced myself.
It's somewhat unique this country, with Wimbledon and the attention and the spotlight that goes with it, so I'd always be open to chat about anything that he wants to.
Having said that, it's driven by him. If he wants to talk then that's great, if on the other hand he's happy with what's going on then good luck to him.
ITN: How regularly do you speak, on average?
The vast majority of the time we speak about things other than tennis because he's a good friend of mine.
It's not like we speak every couple of months and have a chat. We text or speak to each other every week, or at least every other week, but it's not always about tennis.
ITN: Oh yeah - what do you chat to him about?
[Smiles] Well, what do you chat to your friends about? Sport, life, travelling, anything.
Although we have a lot in common from what he does, and what I did, I can't say it's what we talk about all the time.
ITN: We're not going to go down the whole "can Andy win Wimbledon" route because it's been done a thousand times before but...
[Raises eyebrows and smiles] But do you think he will?!
ITN: Well, we don't think anyone would be all that interested in what we think! For the record, the consensus in our office is that he can but no one is willing to put money on whether he can turn it on when it matters.
I don't know about that. If you look at his performances and the way he's played over the last 12 months he's improved more than everyone else on the Tour.
His results don't lie - the ranking points that he has gained has put him at number three and it's realistic that he's closing in on the top two - but, having said that, Nadal and Federer are two of the greatest players that the game has ever seen.
Federer is the best player I've seen that's ever played the game certainly, and Nadal is so young and has already won six slams so Andy has some seriously good opposition.
However, I think his game matches up well against them. It's going to be interesting to see how it does unfold over the next couple of weeks.
ITN: You've nicked my question on the subject of Federer there, Tim - since he's won the French Open does that make him the best ever? Or does he still need to beat Sampras' grand slam record outright to hold that accolade?
With Sampras having won 14 slams, it was unfortunate there was always a 'but' with it - he had never won the French. And now with Federer having achieved that, it is what separates him.
Sampras was a good clay court player but he only made the semis of the French once, Federer has been in the final four times and now won it once so that was the final piece of the puzzle.
I'm also sure Federer's going to go on and win many more slams before he retires.
ITN: Do you ever look back wistfully on your time at Wimbledon, and wish Sampras hadn't been there? I mean he took you out a couple of times and was like some kind of roadblock for you in the later stages of the competition, year after year?
Yeah but that was the generation I played in.
They were the competition then and the reality is that those guys were better than me. If you take those guys out of the equation it doesn't actually make me a better player - it might have moved my ranking up one spot but it doesn't make me any better.
It was always a great challenge to play against the likes of Sampras and Agassi, and Federer as well, so I don't look back at it in that way. I look back with pride as to what I was able to achieve and a lot of satisfaction.
ITN: You trained with both Federer and Sampras in your professional days, didn't you?
I practiced with all sorts of players throughout the whole year.
I practiced a lot with Sampras and I practiced a lot with Federer because they were good mates of mine.
ITN: My point is, is it weird to practice with a guy you then face on court in a competitive environment?
No, not really, because it's what we've been doing since we were about 12.
You practice with all the other players and there's always a chance you're going to play them in tournaments.
If you're playing someone that day then you're not going to practice them in the morning obviously, but it doesn't detract from how hard you're going to compete and how badly you're going to want to beat them.
ITN: Were you ever tempted to fire in a low ball at Sampras when he was expecting you to lob up a high volley? See if you could slow him down a bit for Wimbledon?!
[laughs] Yeah, I should have tried to knock him out then, shouldn't I?!
ITN: Joking aside though, your situation with Sampras has its similarities with Andy's current predicament - Federer and Nadal and their dominance of today's game. What's it like to play someone who's got that kind of aura about them? Federer or Sampras on grass, or Nadal on clay?
I suppose the first time you play them when you're up and coming then it's easy to play your opponent rather than the ball.
It's like playing on a big court - playing on Centre Court at Wimbledon for the first time. It's very easy to spend the first couple of games just looking around, seeing the Royal Box and thinking "wow, this is the most famous court in the world".
But it doesn't really take you very long to knuckle down and concentrate on what's important, because that's what you're there to do.
You're a professional player, so it shouldn't really come into it a great deal.
ITN: The pressure of Wimbledon and the Centre Court - is that difficult to deal with, especially as a British player?
Well no, not really. Again the first time you play on there, the first 20 minutes you might be in a daze but once you've got out there and got started...
I mean you can't say it's just like every other court, because it's the best court in the world, but you're a professional - it's not like you're some amateur out there having a hit and giggle.
ITN: Did it get easier to deal with that over time then? For you, I mean?
It doesn't really make much difference. As I've said it's where you've dreamt of playing for your whole life growing up.
You don't want to be complacent about it because it's special, but you're there to do a job.
ITN: We hear you'll be making a special guest appearance down outside the All England Club next week with a certain celebrity guest... Care to tell us a bit more about that?
Yeah, well I've worked with Robinson's pretty much throughout my whole career. They've been involved with Wimbledon for over 75 years and we've done different initiatives before the tournament each year. This year, we've really targetted the queue, which is almost a Wimbledon tradition in itself.
I've been coaching a celebrity who's going to play against people in the queue on the first Monday.
Robinson's have set up a court on the golf course next to the club, so I've been coaching Alesha Dixon and hopefully in a couple of days' time she'll be ready and raring to go.
ITN: What was the thinking behind Alesha Dixon as your celebrity student for this then?
That's a good question - I've not been asked that before.
I suppose she's someone that's going to appeal to lots of people - and the thing we're also trying to get across is that tennis is a really fun game and can be played by all. Hopefully this will encourage kids to play - it's good to get kids playing at a young age.
ITN: Is it just Alesha playing or will both of you take it in turns maybe?
Well I'm down there before I start the commentary but Alesha's going to be down there Monday morning bright and early I think.
ITN: Will you be there throughout the two weeks of the championship, or just a day or two?
The first day is traditionally the busiest day queuing so that's when we'll be there, but I think there's a fair chance the court will stay for a few more days.
ITN: Well that'll be something to keep people interested while they are stuck queuing up on day one. We know from personal experience how draining an experience that can be.!
Yeah, I can imagine.
ITN: Anyway, thanks a lot Tim. Good to speak to you and enjoy the Championships. Here's hoping our man Murray does a decent job.
I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for him, along with the rest of the country.
ITN: Grand - cheers!
Bye.
Tim Henman is a Robinson's ambassador for Wimbledon 2009 and was talking to inthenews.co.uk's Alistair Potter.
To see a video of Tim and young women's protege Laura Robson talking you through some drills to improve your tennis skills and overall fitness, click below.