Balls To Henmania

‘YESTERDAY, Wimbledon got a worthy champion in Roger Federer, the fourth seed who at last lived up to his undoubted promise to claim his first Grand Slam title.

Federer kneels before image of Henman

In his matches against Andy Roddick and Mark Philippoussis he showed just what a great player he is and led us all to believe that this title will be the first of many.

While Roddick relies exclusively on power, the 21-year-old Swiss brilliantly varies the pace and angle of his shots.

And the fact that in both matches, he served more aces than his opponent shows that he is no slouch in the power game himself.

The final may not have been a great match in terms of drama but, as an exhibition of shot-making, it was spectacular.

It was a fitting climax to a tournament that had been for too long overshadowed by the British obsession with Tim Henman.

One can understand the British desperation for their first men’s champion in three-quarters of a century, but Henmania has got totally out of hand.

And the chief culprits are not the sad people with their face paint and their Union Jack hats, but the BBC and the print media who are only too happy to pour petrol on the flames.

Until Henman is knocked out of the tournament, which this year did not happen until the second Thursday, it is to all intents and purposes a one-man event.

Only after his obituary has been written do we discover that a whole tennis tournament has been going on without our knowledge.

The rest of the players – and the British tennis public – deserve a lot better than that.

Certainly, Roger Federer who played some of the most sublime tennis Centre Court has ever seen deserves better than to be a sideshow to a man whose chances of ever winning the tournament decline with each passing year. ‘

Posted: 7th, July 2003 | In: Back pages Comment | TrackBack | Permalink