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NEWS ARCHIVES 2002

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Other Archives - 2003, 2001, 2000, 1999

10 November 2002 - A Round up of 2002 for Tim

Tim finishes the year in 8th place in the Champions Race but failed to reach the Masters Cup in Shanghai when he failed to win matches at his last few tourments of the year.  When Tim was defeated by Nicolas Escude in straight sets at the Palais de Omnisport in Paris Bercy, he saw his main goal for the year go up in smoke.  He also aggravated that old shoulder injury again and now faces a rest period at home in the hope to rehabilitate his shoulder ahead of the 2003 season.  Tim has already gone on record as saying that if necessary, he will not play the Australian swing of the Tour - but it remains to be seen if this may or may not include the Davis Cup in February. 

Overall in 2002, Tim won 50 matches (from 69), reached 4 finals (winning one), reached his first ever clay court semi final in Monte Carlo, another semi final at Wimbledon and played the key role in Britain's victory over Thailand in the Davis cup in September.   His prize money fund for the year stands at just over $1 million.  However the highest point in Tim's year came away from the court when he became a Dad in October when Lucy gave birth to their first child, a girl - named Rose Elizabeth (see below).

In the off season, Tim is supposed to be playing an exhibition match against Stefan Edberg at the Seniors Tour event in London's Royal Albert Hall in early December - but it remains to be seen if this match will take place, pending the recovery of Tim's shoulder injury.  I am sure that no one would want him to play (for other's enjoyment) if there is a chance it will effect his longer term chances for fitness.

19 October 2002 - Rose Elizabeth Henman - welcome to the world!!

The wait is over.  Lucy gave birth to a baby daughter, Rose Elizabeth on Saturday 19th October, 5.07 am at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital, London  and she weighed in at 8lb 4oz.  On the official announcement on his IMG website, Tim said "I am absolutely delighted.  It's obviously something Lucy and I have been looking forward to for most of the year and I'd like to thank everybody at the hospital for all their help."  All being well, Tim still intends to return to Basel in the next day or so to try to defend his title from last year and get those last few points necessary to reach the Masters Cup in Shanghai.

16 October 2002 - Tim misses out in Madrid

With imminent fatherhood on his mind, Tim seemed to have his mind on other things when he was on court earlier today against Paradorn Srichaphan.  After a fairytale summer run on the ATP Tour, Paradorn gained his first victory over Tim as Tim's game lacked its usual sparkle.  Tim looked good as he took the first set but from there on in, it all went a little downhill, with Tim losing 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.  However, there is a bright side to this loss: Tim will now be able to return home to Lucy with no worries of missing matches - that is until the tournament in Basel which starts on Monday!

5 October 2002 - Tim pulls out of Vienna

A recurrence of the shoulder pain caused Tim to pull out of the tournament in Vienna but he hopes to be able to take his place in the draw for the 8th Tennis Masters event in Madrid which starts the week of 14th October.

22 September 2002 - Tim wins Davis Cup tie with super-human effort

Tim's battle with Miles Maclagen in the doubles followed by today's final effort for the weekend may have cost him dear.  His shoulder has held up for the Davis Cup tie but it remains to be seen whether this effort will affect his chances of reaching the Masters Cup in Shanghai at the end of the season. 

20 September 2002 - Tim wins his first match in Davis Cup

Tim has been passed fit to play a full role in Davis Cup.  After a shaky start in his first Davis Cup singles match of this tie, when Tim lost his opening service game and eventually the first set, Tim went up a few paces and eventually overcame the challenge of Thailand's No.2 player, Danai Udomchoke to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and was finally able to rest that shoulder injury that has been troubling him of late.  Unfortunately British jubilation was somewhat halted when Martin Lee failed to make that much of an impression on an inform Paradorn Srichaphan and the tie is level after Day 1. 

Tim is set to partner Miles Maclagen in the doubles rubber tomorrow and is still schedule to play the first rubber on Sunday against the Thai No.1, Srichaphan.  Off to Birmingham later this evening so the site will not be updated before Monday.

Personally thinking, if the British team lose this tie, the blame as far as I am concerned will lie at one person's door (with Greg Rusedski) and he was not even in Birmingham to cheer his team colleagues on which was a poor show on Friday. 

3 September 2002 - Tim crashes to Chela in New York

After many rain delays, Tim produced a very lacklustre performance against Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela in the third round of the US Open.  His shoulder injury was obviously persistently troubling him because he was only serving at very half pace, which was nowhere near good enough to beat a player of Chela's calibre.  By the time the match reached the third set, it looked like all Tim wanted to do was to get off the court as quickly as possible.  Tim now returns to the UK to spend some time resting with Lucy as the birth of their first child approaches and trying to recuperate from his shoulder injury.  Let's hope he has recovered enough to be able to play a key role in the Davis Cup and can help GB remain in the World Group for 2003. 

30 August 2002 - Tim beats Norman and heads into Third Round

Tim performed well in his second round match against Belgian qualifier, Dick Norman but he will have to have all his weapons firing in good order when he plays Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela later on Sunday.  Tim's shoulder was looking slightly worse for wear by the end of his match and let's hope he has enough time to get treatment on the shoulder prior to his 3rd round match.  With the Davis Cup tie vs Thailand coming up shortly, all eyes will be on how the shoulder holds up for the remainder of the US Open.

28 August 2002 - Tim takes the Fast Track in New York

Granted extra time to recover from his shoulder discomfort, Tim raced into the second round at the US Open, hardly breaking sweat.  Trying out his shoulder for the first time since pulling out of Indianpolis, Tim lost his serve early on but no need to worry because he raced through that set and the remaining sets for the loss of just three games - 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 and will benefit from some more rest time before his next match against the winner of the Ulihrach/Norman tie.

15 August 2002 - Tim pulls out of Indianapolis

Tim certainly struggled in his opening match in the RCA Championships in Indianapolis.   Playing Chilean Nicolas Massu, Tim took the first set 6-3 but seemed to suffer from the old "second-setitis" during the second set.  He must have lost his concentration and as a result lost the set 6-1.  The final set went down to the wire but eventually Tim won through 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 and was set to play the new Dutchman Martin Verkerk on Thursday but was forced to pull out with shoulder inflamation and gave Verkerk a walkover.  Tim's preparations for the US Open are now in chaos and he will have to hope he is physically fit in time for the start of the final slam of the year which starts on 26 August.

7 August 2002 - Gonzalez beats Tim again!

I think Tim will probably want to forget last night's match against Fernando Gonzalez (from Chile) very quickly.  After Tim raced to a 4-1 lead, Gonzalez started to unleash some fantastic powerful winners and had soon broken back and taken the match to a tie break.  Tim did not do himself any favours with a poor tie break (and added to his poor tie break record for 2002) and was soon as set down.  After performing so well against Guga Kuerten, it was a completely different Tim who played against the Chilean.  After losing his opening service game of the second set, Tim was soon 0-4 down.  He managed to win back two games but when serving at 2-5 down, Tim served a lame double fault to lose the match.  Tim is due to play in Indianapolis next week.

6 August 2002 - Tim gains revenge on Guga for last year!

Tim performed really well to beat the defending champion, Gustavo Kuerten, in the first round of the Tennis Masters event in Cincinnati.  Next up is Fernando Gonzalez - another South American, as Tim tries to defend his semi final points from last year.   Tim never really looked in trouble as he steam-rolled through the first set with a single break, taking it 6-3.  He looked even better in the second set as he reaced to a 5-2 lead; a minor slip up on serve gave Kuerten a chance to come back but Tim was then able to finish off things on his serve to take it 6-3, 6-4.  Gonzalez may prove to be more of a challenge in the second round. 

1 August 2002 - Nalbandian unravels Tim!

Tim held three match points in the second set of his match with David Nalbandian and that really should have been the end of the story.  However, with many Tim matches it was not.  The Wimbledon finalist was able to navigate to the net frequently and several "Becker-like" dives later he had taken the second set on a tie break.   The third set was a very evenly matched affair and just as it looked to be heading into another tie break, Tim failed on his serve and Nalbandian was the winner 4-6, 7-6, 7-5.  Tim will now move down to Ohio to prepare for the next TMS event in Cincinnati.

31 July 2002 - Tim into Third Round in Toronto

James Blake was only a temporary barrier between Tim and the third round in Toronto.   The match was over in straight sets but it was full of good quality tennis as both battled for supremacy.  Blake is obviously improving all the time and is not just the Anna of the tennis circuit (the model) - he can actually play tennis too!  Tim took the first set 6-3 which set him on the trail for success and eventually he took the second set by the same score - 6-3, 6-3.  Next up is David Nalbandian - Wimbledon Finalist - from Argentina.

30 July 2002 - Tim to play Blake

Tim is now back on the ATP Tour after a few weeks break as a result of his Wimbledon exploits.   This week he is in Toronto for the Tennis Masters event.  In his first round he beat Fernando Vicente in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, although the match itself was a little tougher than the scoreline suggests.  Next up is Amercian heartthrob James Blake.

7 July 2002 - Tim loses out to Hewitt - again!

Tim was humbled by Hewitt yet again when the two favourites met on Friday in the semi finals.  Hewitt was just awesome and I do not think there is any player who would have been able to challenge him in his quest for the Wimbledon title.  Tim started the match by trying to bring Lleyton into the net and this strategy worked for a while.   However, Lleyton soon got down to business and after a break apiece, the Aussie took the first set 7-5 and led 3-0 when the rain came.  The break might have been Tim's opportunity to regroup; instead it just fired up Hewitt even more and he took the second set 6-1.  The third set could have given Tim an opportunity to fight back but this was never really on the cards and soon Tim was another break down and heading out of the tournament.  However, Tim broke back just as Lleyton was serving for the match (a fatal flaw perhaps?!) but this was meerly delaying the inevitable.  Antagonised, Lleyton broke back immediately and then served out the match 7-5, 6-1, 7-5 [and of course today went on to take the title.] 

Tim will now take a short break before heading to the States for the TMS events in Canada and Cincinnati and the events leading up to the US Open. 

4 July 2002 - Tim completes QF victory over Sa

Tim took the early advantage to break Andre Sa and eventually win the first set before the rains fell again and play was abandoned on rain affected Wednesday at Wimbledon.. When the players returned to Centre Court Thursday, Sa seemed rejuvenated and eventually broke Tim to take the second set 7-5.  After this, Tim seemed to be in control (but only just!) and battled through to take the next two sets and reach his 4th Semi Final at Wimbledon. 

After a 5-set marathon against Sjeng Schalken, Lleyton Hewitt joined Tim in the semi finals and they are scheduled to have their own "penalty shoot out" starting at 12.00 noon on Friday. 

1 July 2002 - Tim wins another marathon match over Kratochvil

Tim's 2002 Wimbledon campaign nearly came to a sudden halt on Monday when a rain interrupted match very nearly got away from him.  Having taken an early break in the first game, Tim was pegged back to a tie break (which he won) but when another tie break was reversed in favour of Kratochvil in the second set, Tim knew he had a match on his hands.  On top of the windy, rainy conditions, Tim had to contend with feeling ill from a stomach bug and when he lost the third set, things started to look ominous. 

Hving lost a 4-1 advantage in the third set to lose the set, and then went a break down in the fourth set, Tim looked as if he had come to the end of the road for his Wimbledon dreams for 2002.   It took superhuman effort to come back to level things and with the light beginning to fade, Tim pulled another Houdini act to get himself out of trouble in the fifth set.   The Swissman had the match for the winning, especially with Tim feeling ill, but he started to suffer from intense nerves and threw in plenty of double faults and unforced errors which allowed Tim to hope he could right things.  After breaking back from 0-2 down in the final set, Tim completed things by winning 6 games in a row to take the match 7-6, 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 and moved into his 6th Wimbledon Quarter Final.  His next opponent is Andre Sa from Brazil.

30 June 2002 - Tim wins a mammoth victory over Ferreira

Tim's third match against Wayne Ferreira was always going to be a tough match but I am not sure anyone realised just how tough it would be.  First of all, when expecting to be greeted by many, many loud British supporters, Tim had to contend with many South African and Australian supporters who had queued up for People's Saturday.  Of the 2000 successful queuers, I would say that the South Africans, Australian and Brits were about 40%, 30% and 30% in that order and the Australians seemed to join forces with their rugby playing giant rivals to give Tim and the British Supporters a really hard time.   Tim did extremely well not to get totally intimidated by some of the African language and shouting because believe me it was not at all complimentary.  [It makes some of the English football hooligans look like angels!] 

I must say that I was extremely dissappointed in the so-called BRITISH ballot ticket holders not joining in with the real fans and encouraging Tim time and again when he needed it.  Time and again after great shots, I looked up and around me to see many of them just sitting there (sometimes not even clapping).  If we really want to see Tim or Greg (or both) do well in the semi finals and final at the end of next week, I just hope that the spectators are less like dumb-vegetables that seemed to be in Centre Court yesterday.  Tim and Greg have always said they need to feel the positive vibes and support from the crowd and once the REAL FANS can not queue for tickets, I just hope that the lucky lucky people who have got tickets for next Friday and Sunday, are prepared to cheer LOUDLY, otherwise Tim and Greg might just as well take up bowls because there is sometimes more atmosphere at those matches than on centre court when Tim has been playing there.

Back to Tim's match against Ferreira, Tim got the early break at the start of the match and served for the first set 5-3 up.  However he failed and only managed to redeem things by taking an extremely tight tie break (on court over 1 hour).  The second set saw Tim make a few errors and Wayne Ferreira in the ascendancy and he took it 6-3.   With Ferreira still looking to have the momentum, Tim dug deep and eventually forced a second tie break.  The match finally seemed to turn on one "very dodgy" line call when Ferreira was at 4-1 up in the breaker.  The umpire overruled the line-judge and although it was still tight, it gave Tim a chance to get his head in front again.  The battle seemed to go out of Ferreira and the "fierce" South African crowd at this point and Tim won the fourth set easily to take him into the second week.  For the record, Tim won 7-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-1 and obviously breathed a sigh of relief - he had been let off the hook this time. Tim's next opponent is Michel Kratochvil and they will be playing on Court 1 on Monday.

27 June 2002 - Tim wins again

Scott Draper maintained that he would not make it easy for Tim to progress in the tournament and to be honest, he lived up to his threat.  Tim had a scare when he was pegged back from an early break, was broken twice and lost the first set.  However, Tim soon turned the match around and took the second set and an early break in the third before Draper came back fighting hard and made Tim really work to serve out the set.   At 2 sets to 1 up, the fourth set was more one sided and Tim was soon able to finish things off, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. 

Tim's next opponent will be Wayne Ferreira and this match will be played on Saturday.

25 June 2002 - Tim cruises into second round at Wimbledon

Tim cruised into the second round at Wimbledon by beating qualifier, Bachelot - with a lovely settled performance to further his challenge for that elusive Wimbledon title for 2002.   With several of the favourites (and some of the main challengers for the title in Tim's side of the draw) out of the tournament, Tim must really be starting to fancy his chances!  Tim's next match will be against Scott Draper. 

16 June 2002 - Hewitt beats Tim again

After losting to Hewitt four times in a row (and only taking one set), Tim's first challenge against Lleyton Hewitt was to try to win a set, which he did in the first set of the final by playing aggressive tennis.  Tim broke immediately and although Hewitt broke back, Tim seemed to be on top and broke again before he managed to serve out the set 6-4.

Tim's ambition to get a first win against Lleyton looked bleak after the second set when Lleyton raced to a 5-0 lead before Tim won a consolation game to force Lleyton to serve out the set and ensured Tim started serving first in the final set..  In the final set, Tim tried to fight back and managed it till the 7th game when Lleyton broke Tim's serve yet again and finally went on to finish things off on serve 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 and took the trophy, the title and the prize money for a third straight year.

Tim will now spend this week preparing for Wimbledon which starts next Monday. 

15 June 2002 - Tim reaches another Queens final

Tim had to come from a set down in both his quarter final match yesterday and his semi final match today at Queens. 

Yesterday it was the Korean player Hyung-Taik Lee who more than put Tim through his paces and today it was Dutchman Raemon Sluiter who took his chance at trying to beat Tim on home ground. 

Tim seemed to be completely outplayed in the first set of his match against Lee and lost it 6-3.  On a day when the weather had been the usual London cloudy stuff, Tim was forced to fight into the early evening before he turned things around and took his place in the semi final yet again.  Tim won 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 and booked his place opposite Sluiter who had earlier benefited when Wayne Ferreira had to withdraw with a back injury.

And today the same thing happened when Sluiter surprised everyone when he managed to push Tim throughout the first set and eventually won it in a tie break.  (However, there was a very dodgy looking line call which looked out!).  At the start of the second set Tim looked out of it when Sluiter took an early break. Tim showed his frustration by finally showing his emotion by hitting a ball way out into the crowd and got a warning for his trouble.  But it obviously did the trick because Tim broke back straight away and finally put enough pressure on Sluiter's serve to make him capitulate at 4-5 down.  Tim levelled up 6-4, but at this point, rain began to fall (only slightly to begin with) and forced the players off court.  The delay prevented the last set from being shown on TV, and although Tim won the final set convincingly (from the score), I really do think that Tim will have to play much better tomorrow if he is to stand a chance of beating Lleyton Hewitt as he goes for a third successive title at Queens Club.   Tim has yet to win a match against the world number one and going on the form of both players this week, he may not be starting now - unless that is he is much more consistent on serve.

13 June 2002 - Queens Update

Tim had a shaky start against Neville Godwin in his first grass court match of the year but eventually he came through to post a straight sets victory against the South African (who beat Becker at Wimbledon a few years ago - remember!?)  Tim went a break down early, but immediately broke back and then upped the pace at 5-4 in the first set.  In the second, Tim still could not find much consistency on serve and both players swapped service games before Tim won the eventual tie breaker.  Tim's next opponent is American Robbie Ginepri. 

30 May 2002 - French Open toils

Seeded 6, Tim started his French Open campaign well. Having drawn a tricky opponent in Spaniard Galo Blanco, Tim slipped to a 1-4 deficit early on in the first set before he managed to relax and turn things around in his favour. He raced through the next 5 games to take the set 6-4 and kept his progress up in the second before the weather intervened and it was just like being at Wimbledon - RAIN, RAIN and more RAIN! However, once the rain cleared, Tim was able to keep his progress going, kept up the pressure and was able to finish the match in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 and gave Tim some time to plan his tactics for his second round match against Xavier Malisse.

After Tim's early promise on clay this sprint rather fell flat when he lost his second round match to Belgium's Xavier Malisse and finishes his clay season for 2002. Tim had his chances but his "erratic" serve and sometimes questionable tactics were just not good enough on the day and Tim lost 2-6, 6-3, 6-7, 3-6. Tim's thoughts now turn to his more favoured surface - grass - and the "home" leg of the ATP Tour in England.

25 May 2002 - Dusseldorf Update

Tim fought really hard during his week in Dusseldorf. Altogether he played 3 singles matches - lost one but won two. With the absence of Greg through another injury, Tim was left to take much of the burden for the team which was made up of Tim, Martin Lee and Miles Maclagen. They were in a group alongside Spain, Germany and Russia.

Tim lost out to Albert Costa in his opening match (in 3 sets), but he won the other two matches against Nicolas Kiefer and Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Because the WTC is more of a team event, Tim was able to have his coach Larry Stefanki on court to advise and Tim said it helped in his preparation for the French Open.

10 May 2002 - Rome upset for Tim

Tim struggled against sickness /upset stomach in Rome and subsequently lost his opening round match against Chilean qualifier Fernando Gonzalez having been 2 points from victory in a 2nd set tie break.  After losing the tie break Tim failed to win another game.  

21 April 2002 - Davis Cup Tickets available SHORTLY

Davis Cup - Tickets go on sale shortly and once the prices have been confirmed I will upload the information, ticket form and accommdoation form if you want to join us at the Thailand tie in September. 

19 April 2002 - Tim reaches his 1st Ever "Main ATP Tour" Clay Court Semi Final

Although the tennis at times was "scrappy" Tim is celebrating the fact that he has finally achieved what he thought may be impossible - reaching a clay court semi final.  And it is not just any semi - it is at the prestigious Monte Carlo Tennis Masters Series event.  To do it he beat Thomas Johansson coming from a set down to triumph 2-6, 6-4, 7-6.  His next opponent is Carlos Moya.

18 April 2002 - Tim's winning run continues

With the pressure off his shoulders (to a certain extent), Tim is fast changing from a player who came to make up the numbers to a real contender for the title in Monte Carlo.  With his rather unorthodox aggressive style of play on clay, Tim beat his third successive South American so called "clay court expert" to reach the quarter finals for the second year.  This time, he beat Juan Ignacio Chela from Argentina 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 and is looking good to reach his first clay semi if he can get the better of Swede Thomas Johansson tomorrow.

17 April 2002 - Tim succeeds against Coria and Massu

Tim is continuing to prove that clay may not be that horrible surface he used to think.   Today, Tim had no problem with the first set, but he was forced into a tie break in the second set before winning 6-1, 7-6.  Tim's next opponent will be Juan Ignacio Chela.

Tim proved that clay may well become a more comfortable surface for him when he came from a set and 1-4 down to beat Argentinian Coria.  With the score at 3-5 down, Tim reeled off 4 games to take the set and then with Coria suffering from an injury, Tim was able to complete matters 6-7, 7-5, 6-1. 

16 April 2002 - Tim up against Coria

After playing a successful doubles match yesterday, Tim hits the singles court later today against Guillermo Coria - which won't be quite so easy.  But the good news is that Tim's neck injury seems to be behind him. 

15 April 2002 - Tim's draw details in Monte Carlo

The draw for the TMS in Monte Carlo has come out and Tim has been given a very tough draw in the first round.  He has been drawn against Guillermo Coria from Argentina who reached the semi final in Monaco last year.  He is playing doubles with Fabrice Santoro tonight vs Gambill and Kiefer. 

In Miami, things were slightly rocky for Tim when he was on court with German Lars Burgsmuller in his first singles match of the week (after receiving a bye in the first round).  After winning the first set fairly comfortably, Tim's mind went on walkabout (he caught secondsetitis) which let Burgsmuller back into the match.   With the second set gone, Tim had to "steady things" to get back into contention.  This was similar to his slip up against Robredo, and this time like last was successful with Tim finally winning the third set to set up a third round match against Felix Mantilla.

2 March 2002 - Tim loses in Dubai

Tim won his first round against a youngster from the home nation, 6-1, 6-0.   In the second round he beat Belarusian Max Mirnyi 6-4, 6-4.  However this was as far as he got.  He was beaten in the quarter finals by the little ratbag Thomas Johansoon (who is pretty unpopular in Davis Cup GB circles having led 4-0.  In the end the final score was 6-4, 6-3 and Tim was left to rue his opportunities.

Two straight set victories over Bohdan Ulihrach and Ivan Ljubicic have set Tim up for his second final of the year, where he plays Nicolas Escude (the current defending champion).  This will be the third time Tim has been in the final in Holland at the ABN Amro tournament.

21 February 2002 - Tim fights hard against Santoro

Tim had his serve broken four times in his second round match but he still managed to come through against one of the Frenchmen who have often been a pain "in the backside" to Tim.  Fabrice Santoro was today's victim but it so very nearly went wrong.  Tim broke Santoro's serve twice in the first set but the Frenchman recovered to level the match by winning the second set.   At 4-5 down in the third, Tim had to serve to save his prospects and went matchpoint down before he was able to pull himself through, winning the final three games to take the match 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 and now plays Bohdan Ulihrach in the quarter finals on Friday.

19 February 2002 - Tim back in action in Rotterdam

After having to withdraw from the Marsaille tournament, Tim showed he was back to his best by beating Nicolas Kiefer in the first round in Rotterdam.  The German, who was in the Top 10 in 1999, has lost form of late losing his last 10 singles matches and never troubled Tim who won 6-2, 6-2.

13 February 2002 - Tim withdraws from Marsailles with Gastroentoritis

After a weekend of intense physical and mental action, Tim returns to solo ATP action in Marsailles this week where he faces Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in the first round.

11 February 2002 - Davis Cup desolation for Team GB

With the GB/Sweden tie just hours away, the all important draw took place earlier today.  In the first match Tim will have a chance to avenge his defeat to Jonas Bjorkman in Australia with Greg taking on Thomas Enqvist in the second singles match of Day 1.  The all important doubles will be on Saturday and the reverse singles on Sunday. 

Schedule of Play

Friday:
Tim Henman vs Jonas Bjorkman
Greg Rusedski vs Thomas Enqvist

Saturday:
Tim and Greg vs Jonas Bjorkman and Magnus Larsson

Sunday: (presently)
Tim vs Thomas Enqvist
Greg vs Jonas Bjorkman

20 January 2002 - Jonas upends Tim's attempt at Australian success

Tim said that nerves affected him during his 4th round match against Jonas Bjorkman.   After a terrible start and the loss of the first set, Tim very nearly turned things around when he broke and had a chance to serve out the second set.  However once this opportunity was gone and he dropped the subsequent tie breaker, things just went from bad to worse.  Having been so motivated to win the battle with Greg, I think Tim was mentally exhausted when it came to playing Jonas.  He has a chance for revenge in 3 weeks when Tim and Greg will host the Swedish DC team in Birmingham. 

18 January 2002 - Tim wins pressure match - Battle of Britain

Tim played some of his most consistent tennis during his showdown match against Greg.  Tim served over 70% of first serves which is fantastic for him in a pressure match like this and probably contributed to this magnificent win.  Two sets up, Tim lost his way in set 3 and let Greg take it 6-1 before he rebounded and took the match 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.  In the next round Tim will play Jonas Bjorkman in a nice little "appetiser" for the Davis Cup in 3 weeks time.  [A bigger report on the news page later I promise!!]

16 January 2002 - Tim beats Vladimir

Tim's performance against Vladimir Voltchkov was a lot better, but still there were a few unnecessary errors creeping in.  Tim had a 4-1 lead in the first set and a point for 5-1 but allowed the Belarussian to come back.  In the second set, Tim's opponent started to be more erratic than before and it was only a matter of Tim keeping his head.   By the time the players reached the third set, Tim was into his stride and it was all over in just over 2 hours.  Tim is now left to ponder his third round opponent - Greg Rusedski - after Greg conclusively beat Mark Philippoussis in straight sets (thus removing the last Australian from the draw). 

14 January 2002 - Tim starts off well in Melbourne

After a tricky start, Tim went into cruise control in the Aussie Open earlier today.   Having to contend with very "Wimbledon" weather conditions for Australia, [Wind and rain], Tim gained the initiative at the end of the first set and from then on, he did not look back!  Although the scoreline looked like was totally under control all the time, he did play some erratic shots and allowed the wild card Australian to have more of the play than he was probably expecting.  I suspect that if Tim is going to go all the way at this tournament, he will have to improve on various things.

6 January 2002 - Tim WINS first tournament of the year

In a rain delayed final, Tim had to play some of his very best tennis to overcome the might of the man they call The Scud - Mark Philippoussis.   After taking the first set 6-4, Tim was on the verge of victory in the second when he lead 5-3 and served for the match.  However Mark came back and took the set on a tie break before Tim was able to break again in the early stages of the third set and held on to win 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 thus gaining revenge on the Australian who has beaten him on each of the last four occasions they have met.  Tim now moves onto Melbourne to prepare for the 2002 Aussie Open! 

5 January 2002 - Tim makes his first final of 2002

Tim was forced to go to three sets in the semi final in Adelaide but managed to win through, 7-5 4-6 6-2.  After a slight concentration slip during the second set, Tim managed to win through in the latter stages of the third set and reached the final against Mark Philippoussis and remains on target to become the first player to top the 2002 ATP Champions Race.

4 January 2002 - Tim wins battle of Britain

Tim is still winning in Adelaide - in both singles and doubles.  In a frenetic battle early in the day, Tim came out on top of the Battle of the Brits against Greg, winning 6-4, 6-4.  Later on, Tim took to the courts again with Mark Philippoussis in the doubles, winning through to the semi finals, beating Prinosil/Tarango in 3 sets.  

3 January 2002 - Carlsen gives Tim an easy ride

Tim had a tough time in his second round match against Danish Kenneth Carlsen - but only for one set.  The set was finely balanced and went to a tie break which Tim won.  Then Carlsen decided to forfeit the rest of the match, retiring with an arm injury. 

2 January 2002 - Tim wins opener in Adelaide

Tim started the year of 2002 in style by beating Aussie Richard Fromberg in three sets as as way to celebrate the New Year in Adelaide.  Twice interrupted by rain, Tim won the match 6-3, 6-7, 6-0 and plays Kenneth Carlsen.  As Number One seed, Tim has a lot to live up to - and the good news is that second seed Pete Sampras lost earlier! 

Tim progressed well earlier today by reaching the quarter finals when his Danish opponent was forced to retire at the end of the first set tie break.  Next opponent: Greg Rusedski which should be very interesting from a British Davis Cup point of view!