I was as good as I could have been, says Henman

　　I was as good as I could have been, says Henman

　　August 23, 2007

　　By Ian Parker Special to PA SportsTicker

　　NEW YORK (Ticker) - Gutsy Brit Tim Henman announced his retirement on Thursday in New York.

　　The former world No. 4 said that he would play his final match as a professional for Great Britain in the Davis Cup at Wimbledon next month.

　　ADVERTISEMENT

　　Persistent injuries have caught up with Henman, who now plans to spend more time at home with his wife Lucy, who is expecting the couple's third child.

　　In bringing down the curtain on a career in which Henman won 10 ATP Tour titles but was beaten in six grand slam semifinals, the 32-year-old insisted he had been "the best he could have been" in his career.

　　"There are many people who didn't win grand slams," he said. "How do I want to be remembered? It's difficult for me to say. Professionally, (I want people to think) he was a good player who gave everything he had."

　　It was on his home turf at Wimbledon that he flirted with success most often, reaching the semifinals in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002 only to suffer disappointment each time.

　　"I'll be the first to admit that although my record is good at Wimbledon, it was always a goal of mine to win it," Henman said.

　　"Am I disappointed I didn't? Yes. But I am able to reflect at the end of my career that I was able to maximize my potential. I was always out there practicing and playing as hard as I could. This is as good as I could have been."

　　2001 had looked like being his year as he took control of the semifinal against Goran Ivanisevic, only for the rain to intervene and allow the Croatian to recover.

　　Asked if there was anything about his career he would like to do differently, Henman smiled and said: "If I could change circumstances, against Goran I would ask for it not to rain."

　　Henman's close calls at Wimbledon captured the hearts of British tennis fans, who rallied around their top-ranked player and created the famous 'Henman Hill' phenomenon.

　　His career will always be defined by what he did there, but Henman hopes the memories can be about more than his failure to win it.

　　"I will probably be judged on whether I won Wimbledon or not," he said. "Is that right? I don't think it is. But I've judged myself against the best players in the world - being No. 4 in the world, reaching those semifinals - I think makes you a good player.

　　"I've never professed to be anything more than that, but I think it sometimes gets tricky when you're just being judged by one tournament, which I understand is easy to do when you're living in the country."

　　Without a grand slam title to reflect on, Henman wants people to look at his career as a whole.

　　"I will reflect on many different moments in my career," he said. "The overall consistency, when I reflect on the fact that I had eight years or so in the top 20 in the world, and five of those in the top 10, there's some pretty good consistent performances over the years."

　　Henman's announcement was not unexpected given his recent injuries and a rapid slide down the professional rankings to 92nd in the world.

　　"It's something I've been thinking about for some time," Henman said. "The issues I've had with my back and the knock-on effect that's had on my practice and the way I've been able to prepare for events and on my performance, it's something that's been making my life harder - probably a little bit less enjoyable."

　　Henman has battled back and knee injuries for much of the year.

　　He thought he was over them, but a bad reaction from his back when he returned to the hard court at Washington gave him the sign that his time was almost up.

　　"Practicing on the hard courts and preparing for Washington and the way I felt in my match there, it became a little more clear cut for me," he said.

　　"With the problems I had with my back it was an uphill battle and one that was getting harder and harder. With the level of tennis I've played and what I've achieved, I didn't want to just keep plugging away with no rewards."

　　With the Davis Cup game coming up at Wimbledon, Henman saw the perfect way to go out.

　　"It wasn't something I planned - that the Davis Cup would be the last event, but given the circumstances of it being at Wimbledon, it was something that seemed to fit. It has always been an honor to play in any event at the All England Club."