WIMBLEDON EXIT FOR HENMAN
Tim Henman bows out of professional tennis this weekend as he enters the Wimbledon court for the final time as a player.
The former British number one will face world number 12 Ivan Ljubicic on Court One at SW19 as Great Britain face Croatia in the Davis Cup.
The 33-year old has been plagued by back injuries in recent years which have seen him slip from 4th down to 92nd in the ATP world rankings.
But whilst Henman's career has been put in the shadows somewhat by the emergence of Andrew Murray, the attention will be very much on the four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist this weekend as a sell-out crowd waves farewell to a man who put British tennis back into the spotlight.
Henman's arrival on the scene with a 1996 quarter final appearance at Wimbledon brought tennis back into the public spotlight in Britain as the likes of Sampras and Agassi threatened to dominate the sport. Along with Greg Rusedski, British tennis fans had two personalities who they could get behind and year after year, queued overnight to cheer on Britain's best tennis hope since Fred Perry from Centre Court, or even 'Henman Hill'.
But for all the support, for all the press coverage and for all the hope, a Grand Slam proved elusive. After defeats in four quarter finals and four semi-finals, Henman was soon branded as a "choker" who lacked of killer instinct. In 2002, a famous Daily Mirror headline read; "No pressure Timbo, but choke now and we'll never forgive you." As he dropped out at the semi-final stage to Lleyton Hewitt, the press turned on him once again.
Despite 10 ATP Tour titles and one ATP Masters Series title, the Grand Slam that he craved never game and by the time he had bowed out with a whimper in the second round in 2005, Britain had a new hopeful in 18-year-old Andrew Murray.
Whilst Henman will perhaps be remembered best for his final-hurdle falls, there's no taking away from him the fact that he was the major reason for tennis being brought out of the shadows in Britain. Participation levels soared, with local courts fully booked across the country. Along with Rusedski, tennis on these shores had personalities who every year had the potential to become the first winner of the Wimbledon men's singles since Fred Perry in 1936. Whilst it didn't quite happen how we might have all hoped, Henman started the ball rolling for new British talents to try their hand at making Wimbledon history.
It may be fitting that the infamous Wimbledon weather may also arrive to bid farewell to Henman this weekend. He has predicted a tearful exit and whilst his trophy cabinet may not suggest it, the sport in this country has lost one of it's modern greats.
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