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September 21, 2007
Roger Federer pays tribute to ‘exemplary’ Tim Henman
By Neil Harman, The Times
From Prague, where he is ready to steady Switzerland’s Davis Cup ship today,
Roger Federer sent Tim Henman his regards. “He has handled everything in his
playing career and private life with a lot of class,” the world No 1 and
12-time grand-slam champion said. “So many people are intrigued by scandal,
but I believe a person with the personality and image like Tim’s is much
more special.”
If Henman found sleep less easy to come by than usual last night, he could not
blame Grace, his seven-day-old daughter, who was in her cot some 60 miles
away from the hotel in Chelsea where Britain’s players are staying. He has
been asked so often in the past month to express the emotions he thinks he
will feel as his career ends this weekend, where it all began, yet how can
he relate to others what he cannot know himself? Federer has talked of
carrying on until he is 35 and can only imagine the heartache behind
Henman’s decision to call time on his professional career.
The Swiss – who faces Radek Stepanek, of the Czech Republic, in one World
Group play-off at about the same time that Henman plays Ivan Ljubicic, of
Croatia, on Court No 1 at Wimbledon in another - appreciates what the
33-year-old from Oxford has meant to a sport to which they have both brought
an unambiguous, artistic style.
“I’m sure Tim could have continued at a very high level for a few more years
if his body had not become so fragile,” Federer said. “He only played a
handful of events this year, he has struggled and it hasn’t made things
easy. He spent many years under a microscope a lot of people would find
unbearable in a country that loves its sporting heroes. I wish he could have
achieved what he really wanted, but he had to deal with Pete Sampras and
then I came along. There were one or two years between, but it is not easy
to know when your best chance is going to come. He gave everything.”
The most aggravating of those misses came at Wimbledon six years ago, when,
the round after Federer had knocked out Sampras to push the door ajar,
Henman beat the Swiss to feel the powerful gust of opportunity, only for the
storm force of Goran Ivanisevic to deny him in the semi-finals. And so,
Croatia comes around again, this time in the form of Ljubicic and Marin
Cilic, a teenager who plays without inhibition. Cilic versus Henman on
Sunday could be the final stitch in the tapestry if the play-off for a place
in the 2008 World Group gets that far.
Federer hopes that it does. “Tim deserves to go out on a high,” he said. “He
has been an exemplary player and the perfect father. I count him as a good
friend. He is absolutely genuine and I hope that he still comes back to
tennis after he’s had a deserved rest. I can see him becoming a leader in
the political side of the game.
“What he brought to the game was total professionalism. There were times I
wasn’t in the mood to practise, but you knew when he gave you a hit, it was
not going to be at less than 100 per cent commitment. It’s fitting that his
career is ending at Wimbledon. What is it like there?”
The moment Federer asked that, the sun pierced the clouds over Court No 1. A
sign?
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