What do you all reckon - will be interested to see the results of this...

Personally I think he should retire at the Davis Cup tie in September. He might as well do a last Wimbledon - US Hard season where he's done pretty well over the years.

Plus with Ancic & Lubicic doubtful he's more likely to have a winning last hurrah there than he is at Wimbledon where we're probably looking at a first round exit.

Also meant to say with the Davis Cup tie being played at Wimbledon it makes it a farewell to Wimbledon as well in a way.

The crowd would be a lot more passionate at Davis Cup as well - without the corporate Wimbledon crowd around.

As I was saying in the Henman Vs Cilic live score thread, Still has another 1-2 years left.

I WANT him to carry on, but i suppose we should wait to see what happens at Wimbledon first

Its 4-1 in support of Henman at moment...

have gone for the option of 1-2 years tennis in him because I want to see him carry on.

But...

honestly? I dont know if he can. He says himself he has a loss of confidence at the moment - a string of good matches could reverse this, but the double-edge of his bad form is that he is now facing top players early on and having first round exits and sliding further and further away.

Even when its not top players, hes having a rough time - he just cant seem to get on top of his game - the aggression seems to be gone, the body is nearly gone and he is in danger of losing his game completely.

I want nothing more than to see him turn this around, get together a great string of matches and then go out on a high - he deserves that. I just dont know how it will go though. I thought this year he would be turning things round and its even worse than before. I know he's been off for half the season with injury but... does anyone see that side improving much?

A case of wait and see then. And just a little bit of :pray: for something great to go out on.

In the end, I think this isn't necessarily about Henman's tennis anymore. Tim has served us well, and has dedicated his life to tennis. He's got to ask himself whether we wants to spend the next couple of years on the tour, playing maybe less prestigious tournaments, sometimes having to qualify and then possibly losing in the 1st/2nd rounds. Surely it might be time for Tim to dedicate his life to his family (and the BBC commentary team i expect)? It must be quite dispiriting being away from home so much, only to go out in the first round to some random 18 year old.

Personally, I agree with GS2, that Tim should go after the Davis Cup tie in September - it would be a really good send-off for him. :)

thats a nice way to look at it - but I think Tim has said he wants to go on playing so if thats true, it does come down to his tennis - cause like you say, how dispiriting is it to go out like this on first round exits to unknowns? Hes becoming Greg :blink:

He could certainly afford to dedicate his life to his family a bit more now - and I wouldnt be at all surprised to see him pop up at Wimbers time for the odd bit of commentating - I would love to listen to him and Mac doing it - I bet it would be very contrasting styles!

I see your point, but if Tim wants to continue playing, would he be willing to work through qualies or whatever to be able to do so? i think he's got to come to terms with the fact that he isn't 18 anymore :P and it's unlikely that he will ever be competing with the best now. If he wants to play on for enjoyment, then he may need to be willing to play different tournaments or whatever. If he wants to play all the top events and continue winning, i think he may have his work cut out, and i think it may end up denting his confidence....

sorry, i don't know if that's entirely coherent - it's a bit of a stream of consciousness......

I would like to stay optimistic and think that this is just a transitional year before a good one. Today, he didn't play so badly against Cilic, he was the more consistent one, just was pretty unlucky when Cilic was at his top.
I'd say another year, with an option of a further year.

Sorry if this sounds selfish, but I think that his family can wait that much, after all, the strong relation with the father only starts at the age of 7 ;)

its already dented his confidence I reckon - he says as much himself.

you're right hun, if he wants to keep on playing, hes going to have to work harder for it - and I dont know if he's willing to do that now. How do you accept that you dont cut it with the big boys anymore? He thinks he can and maybe, just maybe he can - I think thats what I meant by wait and see. If he can do enough to just keep on the fringes and not go back to qualies, then he will stay and I will still live and die by his dream but otherwise....

September seems like a good time to retire indeed doesnt it?

We need Henmen for the Davies cup, apart from that he's served his purpose.
on a seperate not he should have bulked up years ago, while he still had a reputation roflmao

It really depends upon how he does for the rest of 2007. He has 620 ranking points; between now and the end of October he is defending 575 of those points, this month he has to defend 100 at Queens (SF) and 35 at Wimbledon (the 84th ranked player has 500 points), then, potentially ranked well down in the 70's he has 125 points to defend in July and August including points he won in the Canada AMS; September has only 40 points to defend, with a massive 275 in October. That means that he has got to get well into the draw on a few big tournaments and probably make a Final and an SF in lesser ones like last year.

If he can stay injury free it will be interesting to see how well he does. I would like to think that he can stay in the top 50 and be an opponent that nobody looks forward to for the rest of this year and 1998.

However, if he has a miserable end of season this year like the beginning of this year and finishes with a points tally in the low 400's he may take stock at the end of it. He is used to playing in the big tournaments and if he has to drag round the world entering smaller ones to pick up enough points to qualify for the AMS and GS tournaments he may lose interest. It will cease getting financially worthwhile, he can hardly expect to win anything big in the future, and he's got his family to think of this time around. I can't see him mucking about in the nether regions like Rusedski did. His ability to get WC's is likely to start waning strongly towards the end of this year if we don't see improvements.

EDIT: scrap that :lol:

Seeing as it seem Tim has virtually become Greg now :wacko: :hug: I say he should do a Greg and retire at the Davis Cup.

I don't want to be harsh, but he really isn't doing himself any favours; if he can't win a 1st round match on grass, with his home crowd behind him, with little or no expectations as it is, when can he? He's 32 now, he's always going to have problems side tracking him and preventing him from being at his best. He should go out on his own terms, but he shouldn't wait until Wimbledon 2008, he's not doing himself justice and the time has come to think of his family and move on to part 2 of his life.

Shouldn't retire yet..

I'd like to see him play less singles (slams and bigger tourneys), and also give doubles a shot. I think that he's a fine doubles player.

Any thoughts on who should be his doubles partner if he did? :shrug:

Should it be men's doubles, or mixed, or both?

I would have sworn that mixed doubles was only for GSs.

In men's doubles...Well...Erm...Johnny Mac?

It is....

It's only time for Tim Henman to retire when he wants to retire.

I saw his game with Cilic earlier; he's still capable of playing some good stuff and he remains the only current male who has a clue how to volley. I don't really know how he lost this match... typical Henman I guess :wacko:

If he can have a good run at Wimbledon this year, which isn't beyond the realms of possibility, I really think he should use it as his swansong and bow out of the game. Otherwise, he should continue and I'm sure he'll get the opportunity to bow out of the game with a Davis Cup win for the country he's served so well. I can't see him being competitive in 2008, but if he thinks he can be (or doesn't care that he can't be) then that's his call. I'd definitely prefer to see him go out on a high though, which is why I hope he quits after Wimbledon or the Davis Cup.

From a fan's point of view, it would be sad to see him continuing to play with such little success, and sadly some might forget about his fantastic achievements. Personally, no matter what the Tiger does from now on, I'll always remember him battling with Lions in the 90s with his attractive serve volleying game. A great player and the best this country's produced in a very long time.

Yes, I meant mixed doubles in the slams.. :)

If John Lloyd can win a mixed doubles slam then so can Tim!! :lol:

Re: men's doubles, Johnny Mac would probably be busy commentating, but a good call.. ;)

Maybe Hewitt again?!! :lol:

:ok: totally agree hun.

:blink:

Thought that you would give that one a " :blink: "

Or maybe a " :yikes: "

how bout a :ban: ;)

although.... if it helps Tim get a bloody slam under his belt, I might have to swallow my Huge Hewitt Hatred and grow to... tolerate him...

*feels distinctly queasy at thought and looks for vomit smiley*

LOL auntie pebs, you dislike Hewitt but him and Tim won their doubles matc about half an hour ago :D This is good news for tim IMO, the more match practice the better! and I'm hoping he plays in Nottingham next week for quite a number of reasons. Number 1 I would like him to go deep into that tournament and get some much needed confidence.

Number 2 because he needs some ranking points after he dropped 100 today at Queens! and number 3... Because Nottingham is 30 miles up the road from me and the tickets aren't a fortune like Queens so I would go and watch his match if he enters it. Never seen Tim play in person before so I'm badly hoping he plays Nottingham!

Go and see it if you can Andy, i was gonna go last year, but the Nottingham H&M seemed the better option :lol: I would defo go if Tim was playing, but im not back in Leic for a month yet

Yep :) John Lloyd and Andrew Castle mentioned he should enter Nottingham nxt week, but whether Tim thinks about it or not is another question. I can't remember the last time he played Nottingham, was a long time ago I think but I can't see him just leaving out that week without any more match practice and then jumping straight into the deep end at Wimbledon with no more singles practice.

I know hun, I know - its good practice for Tim and he and hewitt are good mates so I should try to get over my deep rooted hatred for the little git.... :unsure:

If he can get in, I guess it would be good for him to play. Wish I could go along and see him too :(

I like Hewitt Pebs but I know you have your reasons for disliking him. I never actually knew that Tim and Lleyton were friends until I saw pics of them training together and then entering doubles together aswell. As soon as I saw that Tim had entered with him I thought that they might have a good run because Tim is one of the best volleyers in the world and Hewitt is a very good player.

So I think you should look at it as Hewitt helping Tim :) Because who knows... maybe Henman and Hewitt having a decent run in doubles might get Tim's confidence up and improve his grass court form too.

You know what I think as I posted a similar thing a couple of months back. I will be waiting for the wave at Wimbledon this year. I still expect him to play Davis Cup in Sept but I suspect it will be his last Wimbledon. It seems pointless prolonging the agony, the results are just getting worse. I'm just hoping it's not gonna be out with a whimper, would be such a shame after all his great years at Wimbledon. Farewell Tim :hug:

Excellent post :ok:

I like Hewitt and Heman, it is perfectly possible to do so. They've both provided some great stuff at Wimby over the years. shame Hewitt had henman's number but c'est la vie. :)

I think doing the doubles will be helpful. better to be playign on grass than sitting at home. And it's all he has left now being out fo the singles now so we have to face facts. Hope they do well in the doubles.

On Tim's retirement, I'm nto sure what he should do. He's at rock bottom right now. In reality the game has moved on and sadly it's hard for players like Tim to make an impact due to the short grass court season (not to mention the surface now favouring the worst grass courters in the world :rolleyes: ) AND the increase in power in the game. So even at his best it would be difficult. And then there is his age.

Thing is though it's up to him when he reitres and if he wishes to carry on he should not be criticised for doing so and have people saying he's an embarrassment. I don't think his recent dodldrums are all down to changes in the game and him just being past it at all. A good part of it has been injury and health concerns, which he can't control. And last year when he was on song after Queens he got the dreaded Fed in round 2 in the tournie that eh plays best. Such bad luck. If anyoen tinks that draws have littel to do with this, look how far Bjorkman progressed at Wimby last year. No dissingJonas, he's a fave of mine, but he woudl not have achieved that if he'd had Tim's draw for sure. If he had a good run without injury he might be able to build his ranking again. If nto then I guess it will be curtains for him or wildcards.

People keep saying they dont; want him to prolong the agony. However if he reitred now or 3 years down the line what difference would it really make? I think he should try again next year for sure and take it from there.

It's so hard for Tim now. His confidence is virtually rock bottom, his game is looking increasingly inefectual agaist the modern baseline era and his desire looks questionable as a result. He needs some inspiration through winning matches. Wimbledon is make or break really now for Tim.

He's a classy player, variety, skill, class. is it still enough though? We shall see.............

Disappointing for Tim today, I would personally like him to play this Wimbledon and have his swansong on his "home turf"

He's been an outstanding player, and had his serve matched his unbelievable volleying skills, would have doubtless won a Slam. His achievements can't be underestimated, he's still arguably the best volleyer in the game...but unfortunately, his other deficiencies mean he can't take full advantage of that.

I'd like to see him have a good SW19, and bow out with grace and style

no, no, no. tim should not retire this year. and i'm not saying that because i'm in denial.

in preparation for queens he beat andy roddick in a practice match. now that says to me that tim's problems are in his head, not his body. he can perform on the practice court but can't transfer it to the match court because his confidence is shot, not his body. there's only one cure for that: win.

getting the 'w' is the only cure. the only option. somewhere, somehow. and it will come. because tim is too good to let this beat him.

are things bad? yes. they are as bad as they have ever been. this is the nadir of his career. the only comparable moment occurred when he was humiliated by verdasco at the US Open a couple of seasons back. he fought throught that then. manfully. and he'll do it again.

why? because tim is very mindful of the words andre agassi once said to him. something along the lines of: "i want to retire, not quit."

if tim walks away now before riding this slump out, he'll be quitting. and he won't and should not quit. in my opinion.

ps, hi Pebs. :) it's terrible isn't it?

Excellent post flame!!

The way you explained it is exactly the same way as I think about the situation. I mean you mention that he beat Roddick in a practice match, I didn't realise that but I read Tim saying he was 1-1 in sets with Federer in a practice match a few weeks back. Now if that doesen't prove that hes still got it then nothing will!

You are exactly right, Tim is finding it very hard to transfer the practice form to match form but I know that he can do this and he can get his confidence back up.

Like I have a good example of this...You mention at the end of 2005 with that match against Verdasco, well I remember that 2005 he started to struggle and near the end of the year he struggled big time. Then the start of 2006 saw him drop down to around 70 in the rankings. Then what happened? Well he slowly but surely started to string wins together and by the end of the year he was coming back towards his top form. Then look what happened! Knee injury and all sorts of things like the flu etc just wrecked the start of 2007 for him.

If he can replicate what he did last year and get a few good wins and get back to form again then he could have a good year next year, especially with the fact he would have no ranking points to defend at the start of the season and then maybe retire at the end of 2008 having gave a good account of himself.

Like last year when he got going he managed to reach the semis of Queens, quarters of Washington, quarters of Bangkok, semis of Zagreb, Final of Tokyo where Federer was the only player to stop him!

that's it, Andy, to nottingham and beyond! COME ON TIMMY!! :rolleyes:

Of course it's time for tiny tim to retire, his choking is a national scandal-up and down the land he is a discrase to tennis.
The guy is beaten before he steps out on court-he can no more close a match out than i can jump over them moon-HE IS A DISCRACE :tsk:

Excellent point about QUITTING rather than RETIRING. Tim should ride the storm if he wants to and not be bullied into packing up for fear of nto suceeding in getting back on track. Not doing things because you are embarrassed fo failure is the worst crime.

Anyway his detractors would LOVE it if he quit now. It would give them the opportunity to harp on by calling him a quitter. TRUE roflmao