Lucy cheers Henman on to victory

13 April 2012

When tennis's history books come to be written, they may well give a footnote to the thrilling match today when Tim Henman beat Greg Rusedski to win a place in the fourth round of the Australian Open.

It is unlikely, however, that they will give a mention to the part played by a lone - and rather confused - seagull.

Yet to those watching today's clash in Melbourne there seemed little doubt that the arrival of the wandering seabird signalled the moment when Henman gained the upper hand over his arch-rival.

And the man who can gain a psychological advantage from a seagull interrupting the game - well, who knows what else he could be capable of ?

Henman already had an edge by the time the bird arrived. Much has been written in the past comparing the two Lucys - both players are married to women called Lucy - but today there was only one Lucy watching the match: Lucy Henman, who despite all the tension - and boy, was there tension, what with Rusedski shouting at the umpire over a disputed call, and then going on to stage an astonishing comeback in the third set when most observers thought he had all but lost the match - looked tanned and relaxed as she cheered her husband on. Of Rusedski's Lucy there was, however, no sign.

Then there was the part played by the local wildlife. Henman was leading 5-4 in the first set when the seagull flew into the Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park. Night had fallen and the floodlights were on, which meant that the poor lost bird was a little unsure as to the best way out.

The crowd, meanwhile, went crazy. Until that point they had been cheering enough, albeit a touch dutifully. This was not so much a reflection of the standard of the tennis on offer, which was of the highest quality, but the fact that they really did not know who to root for.

The British fans, of course, had every right to be confused. With two Britons (albeit one Canadian-born) fighting out the most important all-British match in a Grand Slam tournament since the sport turned professional in 1968, much was at stake. Whoever won the third-round tie would have every chance of becoming the first British man to win a Grand Slam tournament since Fred Perry in 1936.

Rusedski, 28, said before the match: "There will be a lot of pride at stake. I want to beat him and he wants to beat me."

The fans could, therefore, be forgiven for having divided loyalties. They may have had Union Jacks painted on their faces, but they were not about to indulge in the sort of histrionics shown by the Swedish fans earlier when Jonas Bjorkman beat Guillermo Canas.

As for the Australians watching - well, things were a little difficult with the only choice being between two Poms. As one observer put it: "The only thing worse would have been if there were two New Zealanders out there."

All that changed when the seagull arrived. A raucous cheer went up, which may have explained why the creature flew at least 20 laps before finally working out where the exit was. Perhaps it thought they were cheering him on.

What is not so easily explained is the inspiration Henman drew from this unwanted interruption. That, of course, is exactly what it was: play stopped for several moments while the crowd did their seagullcheering bit, and both players looked distinctly put out.

Then, once the non-paying spectator had disappeared for a fish dinner, or whatever it is that seagulls do in downtown Melbourne on a Friday night, play resumed at 15-30. And within no more than a minute Henman had won the first set.

The experts will no doubt put Henman's win down to the psychological strengths of these two arch-rivals. A lot will be made of the crucial point in the second set when Rusedski had a chance to break Henman's serve in a close-fought game, and thought a Henman volley was out when it was called in. "It was this far out," he shouted at the umpire. "Unbelievable!"

Henman said afterwards: "It was a difficult match for lots of reasons - two guys from the same country. We just wanted to play hard, compete hard. I think it was a good quality match and fortunately it went my way." Not a word of thanks to the seagull, however.

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Lucy cheers Henman on to victory

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