Henman blows it again in Paris

13 April 2012

Tim Henman suffered another painful defeat in his bid for a career-best place in the fourth round of the French Open at Stade Roland Garros this afternoon. Henman foundered in a marathon five-set test against the Argentine Guillermo Canas and even if the setback highlighted the question of how much longer he can continue without specialist coaching assistance, he will not seek any change with Wimbledon only three weeks away.

Henman, who split with long-term coach David Felgate in April, said: "I feel that this has been a good test for me, my first Grand Slam without a coach. If I look at the way I have been playing, I certainly feel I know what I am doing.

"I think right now I probably wouldn't want a new coach," he said. "To start trying to develop a relationship with a coach, which is obviously what would have to happen, I think it's not really the appropriate time of the year.

"If perhaps a month ago there was somebody I wanted to work with that was available then I think that would have given me enough time."

Canas won 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in three hours and 26 minutes and, in truth, Henman did not surrender at any point. Indeed, after three hours and nine minutes he was level with Canas - the man who shredded his status in their previous Grand Slam meeting in the first round of the US Open in

1999.

Henman had a break point for a 6-5 lead but Canas wiped that out with a service winner. But in the next game, with tension high, Henman went match-point down when he missed a smash, and an unanswerable service return from Canas took him through to the last 16.

It was the third year running that Henman had been beaten in five sets in the French Open. Now Henman's Grand Slam record will be examined even more closely.

Even Wimbledon, where he has twice been a semi-finalist, cannot be regarded as a safe haven and how he prepares for the All England championships and who he works with in practice could be critical to his chances.

Certainly Henman faced no slow-court journeyman on the Suzanne Lenglen court today. He fought the match out point by point, but his unforced error count was on the edge of being embarrassing - and this after a good run on European clay including a quarter-final in Monte Carlo.

Team-mate Greg Rusedski's European clay-court season is also over and he is starting his preparations for Wimbledon believing that he has enough in the bank to at least match his 1997 success, when he reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the only time.

"I am just going to take the weekend off and start work on grass next week," said Rusedski today. "I will be putting in at least two hours a day starting with some explosive work and then change the physical approach to my training.

"You have to get your grass-court game going right away. I have been on clay courts for quite a few weeks and doubled my number of wins compared with last year. Now I have to build for Wimbledon and I have the benefit of a clear week next week to start off.

"I am going to play in the Stella Artois Championships and at Nottingham, which is what I did in

1997."

Rusedski's four-set defeat to London-based Frenchman Fabrice Santoro in the second round of the French came on the day that Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras also got knocked out.

Rusedski said: "Pete will be working on Wimbledon straight away and so will a few others who think they can do well there. So I will not have any real advantage."

Curiously at the height of the European season, Rusedski has found the delights of golf. "I started about two weeks ago," he said. "I'm playing to about 20 or 21. I hit the ball maybe 150 or 200 yards. I am ugly to look at but it is straight."

Henman blows it again in Paris

Read More