Henman Out Of Rotterdam.

Salmon · Tennis legend

Henman Out Of Rotterdam.

Count Zero · Tennis legend

quel suprise?

i cant speak french but i think thats sums it up.

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Same old problem?

I wonder if he is going to be fit for the Masters Series? And DC too?

steven · Tennis legend

I thought it was about time for Tigger's weekly withdrawal ... at this rate Greg will be back in action before he is.

Someone's clearly trying to answer the question "how on earth will we manage to lose to the Dutch in the DC" ...

Ghosting · Lower Club Player

Hi! I'm a new member. Does anybody know anything new about Henman's knee? Is it worse or has he picked up another injury? Hopefully he will play Dubai.

Salmon · Tennis legend

Welcome, Tommy.

I don't really know if he picked up another injury, but I suspect that something must have happened again.

RobC · All-time great

You've probably already seen this on his website:

Henman delays return to Tour

7/2/07 2:56

British number two Tim Henman has been forced to delay his return to competition despite a vast improvement in the condition of his injured knee.

Henman had been scheduled to play in the Open 13 in Marseille next week but he is now hopeful of getting his 2007 campaign underway in Rotterdam, which starts on Monday February 19.

“My knee is now a lot better than it was before,” explained the four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist.

“I’ve been practising this week and it's a case of so far so good, but I just don’t want to rush back onto the match court before I’ve had a chance to really push it in practice.

“It’s healing really well and I haven’t felt any twinges at all so far, but I haven’t been able to train on it as much as I would’ve wanted.

“I wasn’t able to do any strength work on it for quite a few weeks and it takes time to build that strength back up.

“Plus there are a couple of movements that I’m not 100 per cent confident with yet – I’m sure the knee has healed but it’s just a case of building up my confidence in it now.

“And I haven’t started playing practice sets yet so I’m obviously not ready to compete next week, so unfortunately I’ve had to withdraw.

“But I feel confident that if there are no major setbacks then I’ll be ready to play in Rotterdam the following week.

“Although I’m disappointed that I’ve had to miss another tournament my priority is to be fully fit before I compete again, and hopefully it won’t be long before that happens.”

Ghosting · Lower Club Player

I can't wait to see him on match court again. His style is awesome. I always enjoy watching his game. From my ponit of view he is the last true cavalier on professional tour.

Sheddie · administrator

Hi "Ghosting", welcome to this site

It's a real shame he's had to withdraw from Rotterdam, the courts suit him there. Although the field's super strong, he's made the final there 3 times and the low bounce and fast carpet suits his game perfectly. I remember that time in 2004 when he completely outplayed Federer in Rotterdam,that match was a tactical masterclass for net players. There's also a live stream for Rotterdam, I won't get to watch Tim now till the Davis Cup

From the rumours I've read, it's the same reason why he pulled out of Marseille. He's not yet 100% confident about the knee and doesn't want to risk it in competition until he is. He feels he needs to play more practise sets to test it properly.

He should return to action in Indian Wells unless the knee really breaks down, he's got two more weeks now to rest it and play practise matches. He won't be going to Las Vegas or Dubai unless he asks for a wildcard, he's not entered for either tournament. Hopefully he can produce something special in Indian Wells, he's very unlucky not to have won the title there, made the final twice.

Doug, you've been to Indian Wells many times. Did you see that amazing match Tim had against Roddick in 2003 semis ?

Montana Doug · Futures qualifying

ultimateshedman wrote:

Doug, you've been to Indian Wells many times. Did you see that amazing match Tim had against Roddick in 2003 semis ?

I did. I thought it was a quarter final but I did indeed see it in the greatest seats in the house too. It was a super hot day and the best match I have ever seen live.

I saw him there a few times, going back to 1999 when my wife was pregnant with my son. It was a night match he won against Arazi and super cold. Amazing day.

I also saw him lose to Calleri in straights, he signed a ball for my son even though he lost which I thought was cool. Later the same day I watched him lose in doubles too, in fairness he was just coming back from injury, both matches took place on the same court....only time I saw him play on that court too.

The run in 2003 although I think it was 2004, I saw his match with Arthurs (after that match he signed my son's shirt), also I saw him play a guy from Austria that year, can't remember his name, not even sure if he was from Austria even...sorry. Then the Roddick matches.

I have watched him practice too with my wife I think that was in 2000. Henman is a class act, total class and he seems to always do well at Indian Wells.

You know, if he enters Vegas I might take a drive...it is only 12 hours and I'd love to see him again. Also, I think next year might be his last Indian Wells so I will go down there one more time I hope....that is at least 16 hours from my house! lol Anyone wanna drive with me.

I heard it was the flu from his website so hopefully he will recover and the knee, shoulder, back etc will be fine!

http://www.timhenman.org/NEWS/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=404129&itype=5883

Count Zero · Tennis legend

<blockquote>Montana Doug wrote: <hr /> <blockquote> I have watched him practice too with my wife <hr /></blockquote></blockquote>

 your wife must be pretty good then

maybe she should be hitting with your son 

-- Edited by Count Zero at 23:30, 2007-02-16

Sheddie · administrator

Yeah I think it was in 2004, may have been a quarter-final I can't remember. Just remember following it late at night on the scoreboard and it was such an amazing win especially with Roddick having had such a big year in 2003. I think Tim saved a match point in the 2nd. Doug, would you say that's the best Henman match you've seen ?

Really thought he'd go on and win the title that year but Federer was just unbelievable in the final....did you see that match Doug ?

Was 1999 the year when he beat Greg in 3 sets at Indian wells, you see that one ? I remember it got billed up quite a bit by the press over here as they were something like 2-2 in the head-to-heads at the time.

Pretty cool that he signed all that stuff for your son, must be great memorabilia ! How did your wife manage to get to practise with him...wow ! how much did that cost ?

I dunno why he's always done so much better in Indian Wells and Cincinatti compared to other US tourneys. Strange, maybe it's because Indian Wells is in the desert and so the balls fly through faster.

Lol @ the journey to Las Vegas taking ONLY 12 hours ! I guess that shows the scale of the USA, for you guys that must be like a day trip. Over here in Blighty we wouldn't attempt that kinda journey more than once a lifetime, could probably get to north of Scotland from where I am in less than 12hours if you tanked it.

Would be cool if you get to go....I wonder if Henman wiil consider asking for a wildcard to there or Dubai if he's better by then. He won't have any match practise before Indian Wells otherwise.

Sheddie · administrator

Just seen the BBC article, it was flu not the knee injury which kept Tim out:

British number two Tim Henman has delayed his planned comeback to the ATP Tour at next week's World Tournament in Rotterdam because of flu.

Henman, who has not played since October because of a knee injury, withdrew from this week's Marseille Open to ensure it had fully healed.

And now the 32-year-old has been struck down by a bout of flu.

"I've spent most of the week in bed," Henman told his website. "I had no choice but to pull out."

The world number 38 added: "My knee was progressing nicely, I was enjoying myself in practice and I was just starting to think about competing next week when I started to get a sore throat.

"The next thing I knew I started feeling lousy, my temperature went way up and I was spending most of my time in a cold sweat.

"Hopefully by next week I'll be over the worst of it but obviously it's going to be impossible to play in Rotterdam."

Montana Doug · Futures qualifying

Opps....I didn't make myself clear....my wife and I were watching Henman practice....he was not hitting with my wife....

The Roddick Henman match was the best match I have seen live period. Just a great match. I was so excited to be there. No one around me (all Americans) thought Henman would play that well and even win. I thought he had a fair chance although I did not favor him. I was not able to go back for the Semi, which was an easy match, or the final.

Strange, Indian Wells is dry year round....but Cinci is humid and hot esp in August. I think Henman likes to play in Miami as his family is there, but by far I'd guess the dry heat of LA or Indian Wells or Dubai would be better for his game. It is strange that he has done so well in Wash DC & Cinci, although he has done well in Miami too, his game is set up for the desert.

Montana Doug · Futures qualifying

The commentators during the Andy Murray vs Lee match were talking about the chances of Henman heading to Las Vegas. Not sure how much stock to put in this, but hey, nice to know that he is thinking or talking about coming back before Indian Wells.