Federer goes for 4 in a row - Yes its US Open Time * August 27th - September 9 *

Mindzei · 08-28-2007, 05:34 AM

RODDICK IS A C0CKFACE TW@T

retired_kimmymarlo · 08-28-2007, 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hairy Coo:
RODDICK IS A C0CKFACE TW@T

drunk ramblings

Mindzei · 08-28-2007, 02:40 PM

Not at all, not a drop had passed my lips.

retired_lyriclemelodee · 08-28-2007, 06:23 PM

Is Henman not playing today then? Can't find him anywhere on the schedule?

retired_toad72 · 08-28-2007, 06:38 PM

Hewitt looking comfortable. Two sets up.

Mon Maria later.

retired_kikiiscwazy · 08-28-2007, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Didier:
Is Henman not playing today then? Can't find him anywhere on the schedule?

Wednesday start yeah.

retired_kikiiscwazy · 08-28-2007, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Farewell to Tim Henman - the over-achiever

Not unlike a few of the famous, it's likely that Tim Henman will only be fully appreciated when he's gone. As much as a relief as it may be to many to know that they will no longer be put through the emotional wringer at Wimbledon - although don't put it past him tormenting us one more time in next month's Davis Cup tie at SW19 - it's quite possible that in a few years' time we will be looking back on the Henman years as the halcyon days of post-war British tennis. In fact, it's a certainty if Andy Murray doesn't lose his brittleness.

In his 14 years in the professional game he may not have inspired British youth to pick up the racket but he did show them that with dedication and hard work anything and everything - other than a Grand Slam victory, of course - was achievable because, make no mistake, Henman over-achieved, not under-achieved. That, at least, would have been some sort of legacy, but sadly he leaves the sport in no better shape than he found it.

Farewell to Tim Henman - the over-achiever
Leaving: Tim Henman has concerns about tennis in Great Britain

"I look at a lot of the [British] kids and you know what, the LTA hasn't done a good job, but if you look at the majority of the kids that they're trying to work with, they haven't got a chance because they just don't have the necessary ingredients mentally to be able to commit to it. What can the LTA do about that? As Brad Gilbert said about a player who will remain nameless, 'I think I'm really good at my job but I can't make chicken **** chicken salad'."

Far from being an example of why Britain is too cosy and comfortable to produce champions, the man from Middle England made the most of what he had, both in terms of privileged background and talent. "We had a tennis court at home - was I lucky? Yeah, I always had somewhere to play. But did I go out and play and practise my arse off? Yes I did. It all boils down to the individual. There's plenty of kids from poor backgrounds that are lazy and don't have the motivation."

Although John Lloyd, his Davis Cup captain, is convinced that the joy of nappy-changing will soon wear off - Henman and his wife Lucy are expecting their third child soon - the man himself couldn't be more convinced he has made the right decision. He spoke at length to Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, among others, about the difficulty of knowing when to go, but Henman's coach Paul Annacone, who was also Sampras's, pointed out that their situations were different.

"Pete won here [at the US Open] and then didn't play for a long time before making his decision," said Annacone. "With Tim it's become a case of the wins not feeling so good while the losses are even more painful. In the end it came down to three options: take the rest of the year off to be with the new baby and then start again in January; keep on playing; or quit after the Davis Cup."
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Henman has been fighting a degenerative back condition for several years now and has been taking anti-inflammatories for the past three. This summer turned out to be one unforgiving hard court too many. The truth is, it's other people's bodies who have changed rather than Henman's. He recalled that when he came on to the Tour in 1994 not too many looked down on his 6ft 1in frame.

"Now we have two guys who are 6ft 10in and I'm in the bottom 25 per cent in height," he said. "Look at our Davis Cup tie, Ivan Ljubicic is 6ft 3in and he's their shortest player. Who moves badly in the top hundred nowadays? No one. I'm sure in a couple of years' time we are going to have people playing who are 7ft tall."

When he saw he was facing the Russian Dmitry Tursunov, against whom he has a 1-5 win record, in the first round at the US Open, his first thought was "someone's trying to speed this retirement process up". But at 33 next month, he's going in his own good time, content that during his career he got to No 4 in the world and stayed in the top 10 for five years, reached six Grand Slam semi-finals, won 11 titles, including a Master Series, and "gave it 100 per cent".

When he makes his valedictory speech at the conclusion of the tie against Croatia, he will thank all the people involved in his career but not forget that "they're very small pieces of the puzzle - the biggest piece is me. That might sound arrogant but I'm the one who had the desire".

Thought that was really quite a good article, Tim spot on as per usual :*)