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Timbledon: Will Henman ever climb his own hill?
Coach Annacone: Expectations are not 'objective'

By Sandra Harwitt, Special to TennisReporters.net

If it's the time of the year for Wimbledon then common sense dictates that it is "Timbledon" time again.

Explanation: If anyone is located anyplace near the SW19 address of the All England Lawn & Croquet Club, a.k.a. Wimbledon, during the first weeks of summer when the Championships are being played, then their world will revolve around the trials and tribulations of Tim Henman.

Further explanation: Any location within the confines of the United Kingdom can meet the criteria of being located anyplace near SW19, such is the entire country's obsession with the 30-year-old Henman and how he fairs at Wimbledon each year.

Be assured, that this hysteria for Henman to become the first British man since Fred Perry captured his third consecutive Wimbledon trophy in 1936 is not of Henman's own personal making. [FYI: Britons rarely bother to mention that Perry traded in his British passport for US citizenship in 1938 and served in the US Air Force during World War II].

Fred & Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

Wimbledon means highs and lows for Britain's Tim Henman.

Anyone who knows Henman, who will play in his 12th consecutive Wimbledon, knows that he has spent his years in the game dealing with the attention in a professional way. Nevertheless, his more reserved nature would suggest he'd prefer to slip through the cracks when it comes to the publicity aspect of being a famous athlete, unless it's to push such important matters as the Tim Henman Charitable Foundation.

Nevertheless, he has handled his pressure situation with grace, and even admits that there is something pretty heady about having an expansive grassy knoll out the back of the All England Club, where spectators without Centre Court seats can sit and watch the proceedings on a giant screen, reverentially dubbed "Henman Hill."

"It's pretty cool," said Henman, of his hill, which admittedly does not quite meet the grandeur of a Mount Everest. "I played so many matches there, and had so many great experiences to understand the significance, the history and the tradition of the place. And then to have that area named after me, and it seems like it will be pretty permanent, it's amazing."

For Henman, his living legend status at home comes with a hefty price tag. When he pays attention to it, his life is a roller coaster: hero, one day; disappointment, the next day. This is primarily a function of the British media, who plaster positive Henman headlines across their papers while he's winning, then totally switch gears to criticize him for failing to take the title.

"It's part of our culture and there's nothing you can do, it's out of my control," said Henman. "I try to worry about the things I can control, and the press and what they write, I don't pay much attention to it. It's probably is unfair. But I'm not going to change it. That's, unfortunately, whether it's right or wrong, that is pretty consistent with our media. And it's not just me, it's all sports and different individuals, we do have a syndrome that we do like to build people up to cut them down."

Paul Annacone

Coach Annacone: Expectations are not 'objective'
His coach, Paul Annacone, who has been with him since December 2003, admires Henman's ability to handle the weight of what he deems not very "objective" expectations.

"He's dealt with really well," said Annacone, who describes Henman as a bit of a prankster. "I don't know that there's anybody other than Roger [Federer] or Pete [Sampras] that have a better record than him at Wimbledon the last six years, seven years. He's done really well there, and unfortunately, unless he wins it, it will be construed, as a failure, which I think, is a shame. Can he win that tournament? Absolutely. Will he? I have absolutely no idea."

Starting around the '04 US Open, Henman's previously rosy relationship with the contingent of British sportswriters who travel the globe reporting his every move became tenuous. Since he came on tour, a large majority of every British article written about tennis would be about Henman and he almost always complied to every interview request. But, at Flushing Meadows, he pulled the plug and on top of that, he announced that he would quit Davis Cup, preferring to selfishly do what he believes was best for his advancement.

"I was just exhausted," Henman explained. "I've played almost all the Slams since '96 and I've always been requested for press conference, three TV's, four radios and a couple of private print interviews. Looking from the other side of the fence, they were taking it for granted. Then, all of a sudden, I said, 'You know what I'm just going to do what I'm obligated to do. And for the first time in 8 or 9 years I'm only going to do press conferences' and all of a sudden they started complaining. I was like, 'Sorry, it's not my problem that you're taking it for granted. You're going to have to go out there and find someone else to write about.' "

The problem for the stunned British media was that they had editors back home who didn't want articles on any other player and they needed an explanation for why he was suddenly unavailable. The favored theory was that Annacone advised him to curtail his friendliness to the media. It's not hard to understand that deduction, given that Annacone was a long time coach of seven-time Wimbledon champ Sampras, who never had a spectacular track record of going overboard with the media.
Henman denies any truth to the contention. "It was all rubbish. I was tired and I didn't have the capacity to keep doing it. I just needed a break. I started doing it again and now they're all happy again."

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

Annacone said he did not make the decision for Henman to pull back, but was not opposed to the choice if it diluted the tremendous pressure on him. "I'll support anything that makes it easier for him to play, and I'll take the blame for it," Annacone said. "I like the British media. But I also think because of the fishbowl Tim lives in, the simpler his life is the better. But I'm not sitting and pounding my fist and saying, 'Don't talk to the media. Don't play Davis Cup.' "

Despite the obvious disappointment of not reeling in a Wimbledon title as of yet – despite four semifinal showings – last year Henman added two more Slam semifinal finishes to his resume at Roland Garros and at the US Open. Henman sees his career as a major success story.

TOP 20 FOR EIGHT STRAIGHT YEARS
Thus far, Henman has turned in a very good but not great pro career, winning 11 career titles and being ranked in the Top 20 in the year-end rankings since 1997.

But, at the All England Club, his results have just not been up to snuff for much of the populace. He's lost to variety of standout players deep in second week (Michael Stich, Sampras, Lleyton Hewitt) but has also lost to players who he was arguably better than on grass (Todd Martin, Mark Philippoussis, Sebastian Grosjean, Mario Ancic).

Interestingly, when asked if he has a favorite memory from his six Slam semis, he mentioned a loss rather than a win. It was the most dramatic of his defeats that he recalled: his 7-5, 6-7, 0-6, 7-6, 6-3 three-day semifinal battle, marred by rain, to Goran Ivanisevic in 2001, who eventually went on to win his lone Wimbledon title after three previous showings in the final. "The most disappointing would be Ivanisevic," Henman said. "I'd never played a match like that and, hopefully, never will again. The three days, it was such an important match and it was pretty difficult. To end up losing it, it was pretty tough to deal with."

But as Henman has learned, life goes on. He and his wife, Lucy, have two daughters, Rose Elizabeth and Olivia, which has led him to gladly taking on the dual role of player and family man. And a new aspect of his life away from tennis is in renovating properties and then putting them on the market for sale.

'Order of the Backhand Error'
Henman Hill is not the only honor extended to Briton's current greatest player. In a 2004 ceremony at Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth II bestowed the title of OBE to Henman.

When asked about it, Henman asked a reporter if she knew what OBE stood for. She answered, "Order of the British Empire."

"Oh really, what would that be?" inquired Henman of the OBE, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. "I've heard it could stand for Order of the Backhand Error."

Henman has learned not to build himself up too much, or face staring himself in the mirror and cutting himself down. He has enough people doing that for him. For Henman, life and Timbledon need to be approached with tongue planted firmly in cheek.