EVERY LOSER WINS
He may be a bit crap when it comes to winning Wimbledon but Tim Henman is a smashing dad says Matt Butler.
Tim Henman has just returned from slogging his guts out on the practice court. His shoulder is holding up well, and his second serve is showing some satisfying sting. But his daughter couldn’t care less. She doesn’t give a monkey’s that her dad is in the world top ten. She yawns when he speaks about his renewed aggression and focus on the court. And if he ever fulfils his potential and wins a Grand Slam tournament, she will probably shrug and go back to watching TV.
Henman freely admits that whether he has wiped the court with a no-hoper or lost a marathon five-setter after being two sets up, Rosie, who turns two in October, always has more important things on her mind – like her next meal. But the British number one doesn’t mind that Rosie isn’t into tennis – in fact, it suits Henman just fine. He gets enough grief from the Union Jack hat-wearing hordes that ask him if he is ever going to win Wimbledon without having yet another expert to come home to. “Having a family and a life away from the court is a good way of keeping things in balance,” he says. “Whenever I get up in the morning or I get back in the evening, it’s a great distraction to have. It’s a good way, to a certain extent, of being able to switch off from what you have been doing throughout the day and from what you are focussing on.”
He says having a daughter has even made him into a better player. The arrival of Rosie on the scene – and the associate distractions that come with a new baby – have helped the perennial ‘nearly man’ of British tennis become more relaxed about on-court matters, and therefore win more matches.
In the past he tended to let the thought of winning or losing completely consume him during tournaments. But he has learned to concentrate on the way he is playing, rather than the outcome of matches. And the change in attitude is borne out by his results on tour.
He won his first Masters Series at the end of last year, before making it to the semi-finals of the French Open in May – becoming the first Brit to make it that far since Rick Astley was in the charts. And, of course, there is Wimbledon. Despite every year seeming a disappointment to British fans – especially seeing as the press annually build up his hopes to the extent they trumpet desperate headlines such as ‘the Tim has come’ – Henman insists his performances have been nothing to be ashamed of. And to a certain extent he is right. He is the only player apart from Pete Sampras to have made it to the second week at SW19 for five years running. And the four semi-finals in five attempts speak for themselves.
“My attitude has definitely changed in the last six or seven months,” he says. “Whether becoming a dad has made a difference to my game, or winning my first Masters |
This review from FQ MAGAZINE September 2004
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competition, or even if it’s through joining up with Paul Annacone that’s done it, it’s difficult to put my finger on it. Having a daughter has had an impact on my game, because I’m a lot more relaxed about things. In the past I relied far too much on winning or losing, and I put a lot of pressure on myself. People have asked me about the disappointment of my semi-final losses but, apart from the match against Goran Ivanesivic in 2002 – which was pretty hard to swallow – the other ones I have no complaints about. Everyone was very much ‘were you locked up in a room and didn’t come out?’ but by the next morning I was arranging where I was going to go and play golf or something. Sure I was disappointed that I wasn’t getting ready for Wimbledon finals, but I lost to better players on those days.”
When Rosie was born, on October 19 2002, Henman was not playing because of a shoulder injury, so he was able to be with his wife and daughter for the first four months of her life. But since then the very nature of Henman’s job means he spends a lot of time away from home for much of the year. But he has got around that by taking them both on tour whenever Lucy can get time off work, and the trio are a regular sighting in players’ restaurants around the world. One journalist noted at a tournament in Miami earlier this year that they looked the picture of familial bliss, and said: “It was really nice to see. Rosie seemed to have a strong personality of her own, and really let her dad know what she wanted.”
But the family jaunts around the ATP Tour may have to come to an end next year, because Henman is about to become a father for the second time. Again he will be around for the first few weeks after the birth, because the baby is due in December – smack in the middle of the off-season. The news came as Henman’s build-up for this year’s Wimbledon hit a snag when he crashed out in the first round in the grass court season-opener at the Queens Club. But he was able to take the loss in his stride – despite the tabloid doommongers’ grim predictions thatthe defeat meant he had blown his chances of ever winning at SW19 – because of the simple adage that there is more to life than whacking a ball across a net.
“I have always kept my professional life in perspective because with the intense spotlight that you are under every year at Wimbledon, things get a little blown out |
of proportion. I have a lot more clarity about the way I want to play and my playing style. And there isn’t really any onus on the outcome; it’s about playing my way and when you have a daughter who is not the slightest bit interested in what you are doing, she doesn’t care how you’ve done – she just wants your attention. I think that can help. But it doesn’t distract me so much that I can’t concentrate on what I am doing.”
Henman’s career choice may be seen as more as destiny than choice when you discover his ancestry is riddled with racket swingers. His grandmother was the first woman to serve over-arm, and his grandfather Henry Billington made it to the quarter-final of the French Open back in 1939. Henman too, started early. He was picked at age ten for the elite Slater squad, coached by former British Davis Cup captain David Lloyd. Henman and Jamie Delgado are the only ones to make the leap into professional tennis, but Lloyd says the squad was full of talent. “Tim was always good, but at the time he wasn’t the best of the bunch,” says Lloyd. “He has done very well for himself – all the members of the squad have, in whatever pursuit they have taken. Tim seems very relaxed in himself on the court, and he is obviously loving his family life. I haven’t spoken to him about how much difference it has made in his game, but I suppose it could have.”
Despite the Henman family background – and the fact the bookies are taking more money on Rosie winning a imbledon title than her dad – Henman is in no rush to become a pushy tennis parent. And when baby number two comes along he says there is little chance of them becoming mixed doubles champions – unless they want to.
“Lucy and I both thoroughly enjoyed becoming parents for the first time when Rosie was born a couple of years ago, and we’re really looking forward to adding to the family later in the year,” he says.
“The baby’s due in December so hopefully the timing will work out perfectly as I’ll be at home for the birth and I’ll be able to spend as much time at home as possible with all the family before heading off to Australia for the start of the 2005 season. I’m not about to force a racket into Rosie’s hand, but if she wants to play then I’ll support her without question. But I’m happy she is not interested. Having a daughter is a pretty good way of working out that while you are going to go out on the court and try your best, at the end of the day it is just a game. Whether I have won, lost or drawn all she wants is her food or her bottle.”
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