I Miss Tim Henman (but I do still love tennis)

Oh the frustration, Andy Murray is out of the French Open

For the first time in this tournament, when Murray, I finally found myself cheering with enthusiasm when he broke back in the 4th set

Sadly, he once again lost the momentum, and you could almost say he threw it away

At times his temperement looked extremely questionable, and at times his tennis utterly sublime; topsy turvy really, a good match, but ultimately frustrating

So thats it, No tim, no Andy Murray, British hopes at the French Open are well and truly over for 2008

I have never understood why Tim Henman has always been subjected to incessant knock downs, even in retirement, people still see fit to knock one of the greatest sportsmen this country has ever produced

Now this is a piece of satire directed at Gordon Brown, but tagged on the end....

This is not the first time that the British public has been 'duped' into a similar scenario. Tim Henman successfully convinced tennis fans that he was any good at the sport for the better part of 10 years.
He wasn't. The dull bastard.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s1i36070

I read a rumour that Tim is to be on Strictly come dancing this year, now I love Tim, and Strictly, so this would be fabulous entertainment as far as I am concerned

His movement around the court was perhaps one of his greatest strengths, so I suspect he could actually be pretty nifty on a dancefloor, how exciting ;0))

Sorry, back to the tennis now!

Also, confirmed is that he is to commentate at this years Wimbledon, I am hopeful that this may make up for the loss of him not playing, at least a little. Certainly his knowledge of the game is going to bring a lot to the commentary team. I alwasy love Mcenroe as he talks so much sense, and brings a lot to the table. For sure they are going to put him on all of Andy's matches which will be fascinating.

This was a far more impressive match from Andy Murray

How I wish i felt as much enthusiasm for his game as I did for years with tim!!

Still, it was a great performance, and he is a tennis player we can certainly be proud of, hopefully for many years to come

Some pundits are describing it as his best performance to date on clay, and that certainly bodes well both for this tournament and his future in general, I am most pleased to see that he is still developing, particularly at the slams

He managed to hit a linesman in one point near the end which was pretty funny, his protests got him nowhere with the umpire!

His emotion at the end clearly showed how much it means to him and thats great to see

BBC report on the match and highlights here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7420581.stm

his third round clash is with Spain's Nicolas Almagro, not a player I have seen, but by all acounts a decent clay courted, and has progressed to the third round of a couple of slams

Should be fine though, and I am confident murray can make it to the second week of the French

With torrential rain at the French at the weekend, it was interesting to see a re run of last years final with Nadal and Federer. Now, as much as I admire the way Federer plays tennis, I am just not a big fan, clearly he is a genius on the court, but something just doesnt sit right with me. Maybe it's the blazer at Wimbledon, or maybe it's because his matches just arent competitive much of the time

Nadal of course is one of the few who can keep up with him, and Nadal, well I love to watch him play tennis! how I would love for him to beat Federer to take the Wimbledon title, perhaps out of reach, but he was getting closer last year, on the red clay of course, he is federer's superior

And for federer to be declared the best tennis player ever, he of course needs to win the French; it must drive him to complete distraction that Nadal stands in his way ;0))

As this is a I miss tim henman blog, thoughts of course go to Henman's fantastic effort at the 2004 French Open reaching the semi final with some superb tennis, there were times in that match I felt sure he was going to make it, and what a turn up for the books that would have been. Considering Coria was widely regarded as perhaps the greatest clay courter at the time, Tim held his own pretty well (at times far the better player) on a surface not his favourite. I still cant believe Coria choked the way he did in the final though, losing to unseeded Gaudio. Semi final report from the BBC here

Ah well, it was not to be, so this year, it's a case of tracking murray's progress, and I will watch the final with great interest if again it turns out to be the two mean everyone expects

Following his great success in doubles last year, Jamie Murray is attempting for a wildcard at Wimbledon this year. He doesnt even have a singles ranking, but perhaps they will give him one on the grounds of him being the mixed doubles champion last year. I am sure he would be a popular addition to the tournament for the British tennis fans

More here;

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/sport/Murray-bids-for--.4124909.jp

Apparently Tim Henman told the media that Andy needs to change his demeanour on court recently, how true that is I dont know, it strikes me that Tim is pretty friendly and supportive of Andy, and we all know how the press can distort things!

Reports in the press seem to vary, but it seems that Andy Murray does see there is an issue with his temper, and we will get to see how he copes at the French..

His first round was a bit hit and miss, but at least he's through I suppose (report on the match here)and there were definitely signs of a frayed temper

It's all so different to watching Tim's matches, a distinct lack of excitement leading up to the match, and for a lot of this first round effort, I was only half paying attention!

Not that I know much, but he seems a lot stronger than Tim, but the finesse is just not the same, I think he is finally now beginning to feel the pressure that Tim played under all these years now that the baton has been well and truly handed over to him

It's the Bank Holiday here in the UK, and thoughts turn to tennis with the start of the French Open; I knew it would happen, especially with Wimbledon just around the corner, the summer tennis season just isn't the same without Tim Henman leading the way for British tennis

There is no doubt that Andy Murray is a great player, but never will he stir (for me at least), the sames thrills and heady moments of watching Tim throughout his career

I also have no doubt that Murray will win a slam, and will probably surpass Tim in terms of tournament results (fitness permitting); but it's just not the same.

Seems extremely silly to be compelled to write about it, (then again, I have seen far sillier blogs!!) but it would be all too easy to forget the highs and lows that Tim brought us, and what better than to remember the good old days, and write some, (not exactly informed!!) meanderings about British tennis.

I'll probably be over it by the time Wimbledon is over ;0))

It breaks my heart really that Tim never won a slam, Wimbledon in particular of course. I spent many a year defending him in the pub and the like, and being absolutely convinced that his day would come. Devasting that it was not to be, but what can you do with the likes of Sampras and Federer to contend with. (GRRRRRRRR) and lets not forget the nemesis Leyton Hewitt (an even bigger grrrrrrr)

If you too are sharing the loss of Tim this year, go on, leave a comment, you know you want to! I cant be the only one feeling the pain!