Tim Henman may be 40 and may have bid professional tennis goodbye eight years ago, but when t2 caught up with the former world number four at Calcutta South Club on the sidelines of his HSBC The Road to Wimbledon trip to Calcutta on Sunday afternoon, he was looking fighting fit and his words flowed as smooth as his volleys.

Being the great British hope for years was the best/worst thing for you?

Oh! It was the best. I first went to Wimbledon with my mom when I was six and I saw Centre Court and I knew that’s what I wanted to do when I was older. I was very lucky being a British player to have the biggest and the best tournament in the world to be my home tournament. I always dreamt of playing on Centre Court and playing in the Championship. If I could have played my whole career on one court, it would be Centre Court, Wimbledon. 

The two toughest opponents you played against?

The two that would really stand out would be Roger Federer and Pete Sampras. I played them both at Wimbledon. They are both great grass-court players. They were my two toughest opponents.  

Would you rate Roger Federer the best player tennis has seen?

I think so… in my opinion, yeah. He has won 17 Grand Slams. That’s the most anyone’s ever won. He is the most complete player for me. He’s got so many good attributes to his game. His serve, his return, his baseline game, his coming to the net more, his athletic ability, he is such a good mover, he’s got very good balance and mentally, he’s able to play his best tennis at the most important moments.... Federer’s always been a great favourite of mine, a good friend of mine. 

What do you think of Calcutta boy Leander Paes’s longevity (25 years)?

It’s amazing! I think he is a year older than me... 41 now, and he’s still out there playing on the doubles circuit.… I mean with India’s tradition in tennis and also their love of sports, I’d really like to see better singles players because that’s the best, the most important aspect of tennis. It’ll be great if one of the younger generation could break through into the top 100 in singles, top 50 in singles... that would be great for Indian tennis and tennis as a whole.

How much tennis do you watch now?

I still watch a lot of tennis, yeah... because I am involved with Wimbledon and I am on the board, it is important for me to keep in touch with the game. So, yeah, definitely, I’ll be watching in Melbourne the next two weeks (Australian Open), and I still follow a lot of the tournaments. I think the game is in great shape now.

Your thoughts on your successor, Andy Murray?

I have seen his development over the years.... He’s done incredibly well to win two Grand Slams and then an Olympic gold medal in this era... when you think that Federer, (Rafael) Nadal and (Novak) Djokovic... I think they have won 38 Grand Slams, that’s nearly 10 years of Grand Slams! So, for him to be able to win two and an Olympic gold is a great achievement. I think last year was his toughest year as a professional. You know, coming back from back surgery, obviously stopping working with Ivan Lendl, so yeah... wasn’t easy for him... but having spoken to him... he’s had a great off-season. I think he is in great shape and playing well already this year... so, I think he can have a great run in Melbourne.

Who is your favourite commentator?

I love working with John McEnroe. I worked with him on BBC at Wimbledon. He’s a very good friend of mine. He’s got a great sense of humour but he’s also got a very good insight into the game. I think he reads the game very well and he is definitely someone I have enjoyed working with.

Is golfing a weekend pastime for you?

No, I try and play... the weather at home is not so good. I’ve just come from the HSBC (Golf) Championship in Abu Dhabi... I was working a bit there and it’s great to see the best players in the world. I’ve always had a passion for golf. When the weather warms up back home, I’ll get back on the court.

What is Tim Henman, the dad, like?

My daughters (Rosie, Olivia, and Grace) play all sports. They play a little bit of tennis, netball, hockey, they swim... middle one (Olivia) is in gymnastics... so, yeah, they are very active and it’s great... I am very lucky that I get a lot of time to be at home with them and see them growing up. They are 12, 10 and 7 now. Those are my priority.

Saionee Chakraborty

 

 

t2 got Shivika Burman, former Bengal number one and former number one junior tennis player in India, chatting with Tim Henman. The 25-year-old from Ballygunge Circular Road has been battling an injury on her right shoulder which has kept her away from the court for one-and-a-half years. 

Shivika: I am getting back after a long injury lay-off. What would your tips be to get back to the circuit? 

Tim: Rehabilitation is so important to make sure you build up the strength again… especially after a big operation when you have lost a lot of strength in a lot of the muscles around your arm, shoulder and back. It is really important that you build those up and you regain the strength and then also the confidence in the game when you start with the hitting. It is important to start slowly and with the groundstrokes and then build that up and up and up. Then move to the serve. It is good if you can make sure that you have someone to help you with the flexibility to make sure that you stay nice and loose. Listen to your body as well to make sure that you can differentiate between a little bit of soreness and stiffness and a sharp pain. If you are getting a sharp pain then you have to be careful that you are not doing more damage. 

Shivika: How important is it to travel with the coach or trainer, especially at this point when I am getting back from injury?

Tim: Ideally you would like to have a coach or a trainer travelling with you so that you can have someone there on the road but that’s obviously expensive. If you are looking at your tournament schedule, when you are ready to play those matches again, you are the priority. The important thing for you is to compete. I know from the British players… I don’t think they compete enough. They spend a lot of time practising and training, but the competition is where you are going to find out how good you can be. If you need to go away for a couple of weeks and just travel with some other players may be, not with the coach because it is too expensive, then that’s probably the right thing to do. Then you can come back to where your base is with your coach and train. It is always important to have a plan, set yourself goals and targets and try and work towards it. 

Shivika: When I was injured, since I couldn’t play much, I was just trying to help little kids because I would eventually like to get into coaching…

Tim: Which is great!

Shivika: How does one cope with the pressure from parents and coaches? 

Tim: Again, there shouldn’t be pressure. Pressure is all self-inflicted. It’s what your mind is telling you. For me, when I was playing at Wimbledon and I was a British player playing in the biggest tournament in the world, playing on Centre Court with all the press, the television, it would be very easy to be distracted by that. But I wanted to make sure that I focus on the things I could control and preparation and performance. So, I never read the newspapers or watched television about tennis and myself. I didn’t listen to the radio because I just wanted to have a clear mind.... 

That’s where it is important that when you are working with young kids, you want them to be focused on the process, on their game, the shots they want to hit and tell them not to worry about the outcome. To begin with, it doesn’t matter if they win a point or a match or a tournament, we want them to be developing their game, we want them to be having fun and if they do that, then there is a good chance that they can play better in the future. 

 

TIM TOPPERS

Last place travelled to: I was in Abu Dhabi last week

Last book read: Probably an autobiography

Last film watched: It was on the plane when we went on a holiday to Koh Samui in Thailand and it was The Hundred-Foot Journey

Favourite actor: I like the Bond films. I like Daniel Craig at the moment

Favourite actress: Helen Mirren

Favourite film: Wedding Crashers

Fitness funda: We only get one body. So, it is important to look after it. I think if you can do a little bit of exercise, try and do a little bit each day, then it will help you stay in good shape