Henman plays a waiting game

13 April 2012

Julien Boutter is just the kind of tennis hit-man you want to avoid when playing a very lucrative game of last man standing. Tim Henman, the British No1, needed a good run at the Tennis Masters Series event in Paris yesterday to keep alive his hopes of reaching the Masters Cup in Sydney next month - the culmination of the season when the top eight players fight it out for a £2.4 million prize fund.

By winning the Basle tournament on Sunday, Henman was on target to be a member of the Masters elite - then came Boutter. The tall French right hander, ranked 54, has a monstrous serve allied to thumping ground strokes and when it all comes together he could be warned for ball abuse after every shot.

He punished the yellow tennis balls handed to him yesterday with such relish that Henman, the world No 7, was left shell-shocked and beaten 6-4, 6-3 in just 65 minutes.

If this had been a boxing match the referee would have stopped the contest on the grounds that a heavy- weight was giving a lightweight a fearful hiding. Henman wanted to be the last man standing, but Boutter knocked him to the ground in the second round of the tournament.

It was all so deflating given Henman's form in Basle and all the permutations that had been worked out before Boutter had struck the first ball in fearsome anger were rendered useless. Henman just had to keep winning at least as many matches as his nearest rivals Tommy Haas, Marit Safin and Sebatien Grosjean to make it to Sydney.

As of today, Henman is seven points behind Haas who now holds the last available qualifying spot in the Champions Race, although the German could also be overtaken by either Grosjean, if the Frenchman reaches the semi-finals, or Safin, if the defending champion makes it to the final again. Safin, 11th in the race, trails Grosjean by nine points and Haas by 43 points.

While Henman is left on the sidelines, the battle is still very much alive for Haas, Safin and Grosjean in the final regular tournament of the season.

Henman's only other hope is to be an alternate - a player who is next in line if one of the eight qualifiers drops out - and he filled that role in 1997. That could happen again if Andre Agassi decides he cannot be parted from his new-born son and wife Steffi Graf, allowing Henman to appear in Sydney and he said: "I would go in that situation."

Of course he would. You receive more than £30,000 just for making it to the event. Agassi is third in the Champions Race behind Gustavo Kuerten and Lleyton Hewitt and winning the Sydney showpiece would be an outstanding way for the Las Vegan to prove he's still a force.

Besides Kuerten, Hewitt and Agassi, the Sydney line up will include Patrick Rafter, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Goran Ivanisevic - plus one of the players trying to impress in Paris this week.

For Henman, it's a case of keep your bag packed in the hope that a late call to join the gang in Sydney comes from the organisers. If Henman is left at home, then he can reflect on a year that brought two titles and another Wimbledon semifinal appearance which helped generate £600,000 in prize money. That is likely to be doubled with bonuses for finishing in the top 10.

Henman's new coach Larry Stefanki is in place for the Australian Open in January - the first Grand Slam of 2002. Of course, the doubters are going to remain until Henman reaches a Grand Slam final, or better still, actually wins one. Henman said: "It's disappointing not to qualify for Sydney because I got myself into a good position.

"I would go to Sydney if someone pulled out and you never know what could happen. We will have to just wait and see. I approached this time of year with a good attitude and I have played some good tennis. I didn't in this match and Boutter was too good for me. I don't enjoy the conditions in Paris because the ball sits up more and the surface is slower but I have to learn to deal with it because this is such a good tournament."

MORE ABOUT

Andre Agassi

Henman plays a waiting game

Read More