Henman beendet Karriere!
ATP Tour - Henman announces retirement
Eurosport - Thu, 23 Aug 17:14:00 2007
Tim Henman has announced his plans to retire from professional tennis effective next month, bringing an end to the career of Britain's top Open Era men's tennis player.
Henman will quit after the September 21-23 Davis Cup tie against Croatia at Wimbledon, he announced at a press conference in New York where he is preparing for his final US Open campaign.
"I am going to be retiring after the Davis Cup against Croatia at Wimbledon," Henman said.
"I'm sorry that I wasn't able to sort of let you know first hand in person, but that was kind of taken out of my control," Henman added, commenting on the media speculation that preceded the announcement.
Henman, who turns 33-year-old old on September 6, is Britain's most successful Open Era player having reached an ATP ranking of world number four and won 11 career ATP titles.
His wife Lucy is expecting their third child and he has struggled with back and knee injuries for the past year.
"From a professional point of view, it's something I've been thinking about for some time," said Henman.
"The way that [the issues with my back] have affected my performance have obviously made my life a little bit harder, a little bit less enjoyable."
"With my third child on my way, there's obviously a bigger incentive to be at home."
"It's not necessarily the end of things for me, it's obviously a new beginning."
The British number two said he made the decision three weeks ago after losing in the first-round at the Washington Classic - a tournament he won in 2003.
"I didn't want to keep plugging away with the limited rewards that I was going to get," Henman said.
"Around Washington time, that is when I pretty much knew that I wanted to stop."
Henman has struggled to 3-11 tour record this season, with two additional wins coming in Davis Cup play against the Netherlands in April.
The Oxford ace, who has a 494-273 lifetime singles record, reached four Wimbledon semi-finals and semi-finals at both the US Open and Roland Garros, but never made it to a grand slam final.
Henman ruled out returning for one last go at Wimbledon next year.
"For me to hang around another nine months just to play Wimbledon for the sake of it, doesn't appeal to me. But to play the Davis Cup there will be very special," he said.
"I'm sure if I was asked 'do I want to go back and play Wimbledon one last time?' I really feel the simple answer is 'no'."
Henman praised the future prospects for British tennis, commenting that the LTA was doing a fine job to set down a solid foundation and that he would consider one day working to help develop young British players.
"I'd absolutely be interested in being involved, whenever that may be, because I believe now there's a structure in place where you can certainly see things happening," he said.
Henman reached a career high of fourth in the world in July 2002 and won the prestigious Paris Masters one season later, but his ranking has since plummeted to 92nd in the world after a rash of injuries.
Henman has been drawn to face Russia's 27th seed Dmitry Tursunov in the opening round of the US Open, which starts on Monday.
"I'd like to feel there's going to be a lot of new opportunities out there for me and lots of new things to explore," Henman said, indicating he would be interested in a possible career in coaching after a break from the sport.
"I'm looking forward to stepping away from things.
"If it's next year or the year after, I'll look at what's out there. I'm sure that will involve tennis.
"It's been such a good part of my life."
Jeremy Stahl / Eurosport
Eurosport - Thu, 23 Aug 17:14:00 2007
Tim Henman has announced his plans to retire from professional tennis effective next month, bringing an end to the career of Britain's top Open Era men's tennis player.
Henman will quit after the September 21-23 Davis Cup tie against Croatia at Wimbledon, he announced at a press conference in New York where he is preparing for his final US Open campaign.
"I am going to be retiring after the Davis Cup against Croatia at Wimbledon," Henman said.
"I'm sorry that I wasn't able to sort of let you know first hand in person, but that was kind of taken out of my control," Henman added, commenting on the media speculation that preceded the announcement.
Henman, who turns 33-year-old old on September 6, is Britain's most successful Open Era player having reached an ATP ranking of world number four and won 11 career ATP titles.
His wife Lucy is expecting their third child and he has struggled with back and knee injuries for the past year.
"From a professional point of view, it's something I've been thinking about for some time," said Henman.
"The way that [the issues with my back] have affected my performance have obviously made my life a little bit harder, a little bit less enjoyable."
"With my third child on my way, there's obviously a bigger incentive to be at home."
"It's not necessarily the end of things for me, it's obviously a new beginning."
The British number two said he made the decision three weeks ago after losing in the first-round at the Washington Classic - a tournament he won in 2003.
"I didn't want to keep plugging away with the limited rewards that I was going to get," Henman said.
"Around Washington time, that is when I pretty much knew that I wanted to stop."
Henman has struggled to 3-11 tour record this season, with two additional wins coming in Davis Cup play against the Netherlands in April.
The Oxford ace, who has a 494-273 lifetime singles record, reached four Wimbledon semi-finals and semi-finals at both the US Open and Roland Garros, but never made it to a grand slam final.
Henman ruled out returning for one last go at Wimbledon next year.
"For me to hang around another nine months just to play Wimbledon for the sake of it, doesn't appeal to me. But to play the Davis Cup there will be very special," he said.
"I'm sure if I was asked 'do I want to go back and play Wimbledon one last time?' I really feel the simple answer is 'no'."
Henman praised the future prospects for British tennis, commenting that the LTA was doing a fine job to set down a solid foundation and that he would consider one day working to help develop young British players.
"I'd absolutely be interested in being involved, whenever that may be, because I believe now there's a structure in place where you can certainly see things happening," he said.
Henman reached a career high of fourth in the world in July 2002 and won the prestigious Paris Masters one season later, but his ranking has since plummeted to 92nd in the world after a rash of injuries.
Henman has been drawn to face Russia's 27th seed Dmitry Tursunov in the opening round of the US Open, which starts on Monday.
"I'd like to feel there's going to be a lot of new opportunities out there for me and lots of new things to explore," Henman said, indicating he would be interested in a possible career in coaching after a break from the sport.
"I'm looking forward to stepping away from things.
"If it's next year or the year after, I'll look at what's out there. I'm sure that will involve tennis.
"It's been such a good part of my life."
Jeremy Stahl / Eurosport
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