it says that henman aiming to get back in the top 32 and be among the seeds for the Australian Open 2007. its realistic but will he get there? the more players coming through the harder its going to be for tim
It's a tough target but definately achievable. If Tim plays like he did at Queens this year on a regular basis he can still compete with the young power-hitters on most surfaces. The draw this week is fairly weak and with Roddick gone it's a great opportunity for him to pick up valuable points. Toronto has not traditionally been a happy hunting ground for Tim but with a good draw he could do well in Cincinnatti where the balls fly a bit more through the air.
After New York, Bangkok and Tokyo will have weaker draws so he'll have a good chance of being seeded for those tournaments and then it's one of Tim's favourite times of the year, the European indoor season where the courts are almost tailor-made for his game, on fast indoor carpet he can trouble anyone when on top form.
I don't think Tim will do well in the Aussie Open though. The courts there just don't suit him, they're too slow which makes it hard for Henman to hit through opponents from the baseline and they're also too bouncy which means that Tim can't get to the net anywhere near as much as he'd like. He's always going to struggle now on rebound ace against bionic men like Tursunov and Verdasco.
Fair draws in Toronto, Cinci and the US Open and I think he will get there. He plays like a top 30 player and has zero points to defend for the rest of the year. I think a healthy Tim Henman is a top 30 player by Dec.
I agree. He had a really bad last half of 2005, so most points will be new points, and some of the surfaces are his favourites.
A run at the US Open would really, really help this, too, but perhaps is coming too soon. And it is very draw dependent. Getting Fed in round 2 of Wimby was not good luck for Tim, and he could do without a repetition...
If he stays healthy, he will be a bit disappointed not to be top 30.