The Open Era
Great Britain · born Oxford, 1974 · right-handed · four times Wimbledon semi-finalist
All playersBack to the rankings
4
Wimbledon singles semi-finals, 1998 to 2002
8
Wimbledon quarter-finals or better, 1996 to 2004
3
Queen's Club finals, all lost
4
Career-high ranking, July 2002
40-14
Davis Cup win-loss record
Born in Oxford in 1974, Henman turned professional in 1993 and played until 2007. He won 11 singles titles and four in doubles, and reached a career-high ranking of No. 4 on 8 July 2002. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics he took the doubles silver medal with Neil Broad, losing the final to Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde. He reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals or better eight times between 1996 and 2004, but never a final. In the Davis Cup he won 40 matches and lost 14, and his last match was a doubles win with Jamie Murray against Croatia on Court One at Wimbledon in September 2007. He then joined the BBC commentary team and the board of the All England Club.
| Wimbledon singles | Semi-finalist 1998 and 1999 (lost to Pete Sampras), 2001 (Goran Ivanišević) and 2002 (Lleyton Hewitt); quarter-finalist 1996, 1997, 2003 and 2004 |
|---|---|
| Grass singles titles | None; three finals, all at Queen's Club |
| Queen's Club finals | 1999: lost to Pete Sampras 7-6, 4-6, 6-7. 2001: lost to Lleyton Hewitt 6-7, 6-7. 2002: lost to Hewitt 6-4, 1-6, 4-6 |
| Match to remember | 2001 Wimbledon semi-final: led Ivanišević 5-7, 7-6, 6-0 when rain came; lost 5-7, 7-6, 6-0, 6-7, 3-6 over three days |
| Wimbledon doubles | 1995: defaulted with Jeremy Bates after a ball he struck in anger hit a ball girl |
| Davis Cup at Wimbledon | September 2007, his last match: beat Marin Čilić and Lovro Zovko with Jamie Murray 4-6, 6-4, 7-6, 7-5 on Court One |
"It was definitely the most frustrating and disappointing match in my career."
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon 1995 · Doubles
Playing with Jeremy Bates against Jeff Tarango and Henrik Holm, he lost a point to a net cord in a fourth-set tiebreak and hit a ball away in frustration. It struck the ball girl Caroline Hall. The referee, Alan Mills, disqualified the pair, the first players defaulted at Wimbledon in the Open Era. Henman apologised and gave her a bouquet of flowers.
Source: Tennis365Wimbledon, late 1990s
When a big screen went up beside the rebuilt No. 1 Court in 1997, British spectators without show-court tickets gathered on the Aorangi Terrace to watch him. It became Henman Hill. After Andy Murray arrived, some called it Murray Mound. In 2009 Henman said the two had agreed it was still his: Murray could have the Grand Slams, but he was keeping his hill.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon 2001 · Semi-final
Two sets to one up against Goran Ivanišević, he watched the rain arrive. They came back on the Saturday, Ivanišević won the fourth set, and it rained again. The match finished on the Sunday. Henman later said that with a roof he had a good chance, and that he would never have lost to Pat Rafter in the final.
Source: TennisheadWimbledon 2002
Henman did not read the newspapers during Wimbledon, so someone had to ask if he had seen the Mirror. Half its front page was a picture of him, with the line: "Tim, dot, dot, dot, if you choke this year, we'll never forgive you." His summary of the experience, years later: "Welcome to my world."
Source: Tennis Up To DateWimbledon 2007 · Davis Cup
His final match was on Court One in front of 11,400 people: a Davis Cup doubles with Jamie Murray against Marin Čilić and Lovro Zovko. They won in four sets to take Britain back into the World Group. "I couldn't have written a better script," he said.
Source: New Zealand HeraldOff duty
Away from tennis his sport is golf. He is a member of Huntercombe, Queenwood and Sunningdale and has won the scratch medal at Huntercombe. He also follows cricket and rugby, supports Oxford United, and names Wedding Crashers as his favourite film.
Source: WikipediaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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