Healthy Henman on hand to give Murray moral support

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It is a good job for Andy Murray that Tim Henman's back is in considerably better condition than it was a month ago.

As Henman prepares for the start of the Pacific Life Open, in which he plays Donald Young in the first round, he is feeling fit, eager and enthusiastic.

All the mutterings of retirement have been silenced and even at the age of 31, he is cautiously thinking of the future. And that can only be good news for Murray.

Murray has always looked up to Henman, first as a hero to be admired and latterly as a friend to turn to for advice and guidance.

Everything that Murray is going through now Henman has been through, and that experience helps as Scotland's finest comes to terms with his new fame and celebrity status.

"I remember thinking at Wimbledon last year when he won two matches, that there was no sense of perspective," Henman said. "And I remember thinking: 'God, you poor sod.' I was 21 when that happened to me and he's three years younger than that.

"It's such a big aspect and something that he has to deal with - and he absolutely will deal with it. I'm not saying that it's a negative but it is an aspect. But the positives at Wimbledon are fantastic, that he's playing at home, that he has that type of support."

Henman, for all the pressure that he has endured in SW19 over the years, is also looking forward to thriving in that environment again. His career may be drawing to a close but he hopes it is not over yet. His sore back has been behaving itself for the past fortnight, allowing him to reach the quarter-finals in Dubai last week and survive the long flight from the Middle East to the west coast.

"I'm cautiously optimistic that I am moving in the right direction with it," he said. "Normally you're talking about when the momentum is going in the wrong direction it is to do with your game, when you're playing badly.

"I would love that scenario as long as I was healthy. But it puts it in perspective: the fact that if I'm not playing particularly well, I'm so much more relaxed about it if I'm feeling all right."

Learning to manage the frustration of his recent injury problems has also given Henman a new view of his career and his objectives.

"All the weeks when I was winning titles and reaching finals and it's like back-to-back-to-back, you are so caught up in it and consumed by it," he said. "You don't appreciate it at the time when your expectations are higher, because it's the norm, but now I feel very relaxed about the way things are and so the actual match and outcome, it seems far less important because that's not the priority. I think that can work in your favour."

Getting through a few rounds here would build Henman's confidence - and it will also keep him in town to deflect some of the attention from Murray. Equally, Murray's emergence has taken much of the pressure from Henman's shoulders and together with Greg Rusedski, the three men form just enough of a group that any one of them can get lost in the crowd if they feel the need. Just so long as Henman's back holds up, that is.