THE tennisreporters.net NEWSLETTER: WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, NO. 29

Has Stefanki tinkered with Henman too much?

By Eleanor Preston
Special to tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane/ Camerawork USA, Inc.

FROM ROLAND GARROS – Tim Henman is being stalked. Britain's brightest hope may not seem the sort of chap to invite such a peculiar form of frenzied devotion, but make no mistake, his every move is being watched, his every comment is being analyzed, his every serve dissected.

Stranger still, Henman is object of obsession for a group of men and women, most of whom are old enough to know better – the British press.

Around this time of year, with Wimbledon just a clay court drop shot away, the regular press corps which follows Henman around the world swells in numbers. With the first whiff of newly mown grass in the air his followers tee up their tape recorders and lick the tips of their pencils in anticipation of the silliest season of all, the time when Henmania starts to spread.

Don your face masks for it's about to break out.

The spotlight for those who make following Henman a professional obsession is bright enough to blind them. Some are blind to his faults, others to his good points but all can think of little else at this time of year.

PARIS IS JUST A TUNE-UP
What other group of people would regard Roland Garros, a Grand Slam tournament steeped in drama and dripping with history, as a grass court tune-up?

In fairness, Henman's form on clay down the years has done little to dispel the impression that it is a tournament he dabbles in rather that seriously believes he can win. Take this year as an example. His coach, Larry Stefanki, is scheduled to arrive in London next week to begin working with Henman on his Wimbledon preparations. Most players, who, like Henman, have spent most of the last few years inside the Top 20, might expect to be busy in the second week of a Grand Slam. They might be fooling themselves, but keeping the diary free that week would at least be a statement of intent.

Even if he hadn't been blighted by a shoulder injury this year, and hadn't needed an operation last autumn, Henman would scarcely have been a favorite at Roland Garros. As it is, his emphatic first round win over Vladimir Voltchkov included, he was won only five matches this year, three of those on clay. His second round match over Todd Martin, over whom he has a leading 4-3 head to head record (and has beaten in their last three matches), should be a winnable encounter, but Juan Carlos Ferrero lurks as a potential third-round opponent on Saturday. Perhaps he was right to make plans for the rest of the weekend.

Henman's decision to change his arrangement with Stefanki is an interesting one. The pair got together in July 2001, four months after Henman had split from his long time coach David Felgate. With Stefanki his best result – a fourth Wimbledon semifinal last year – was exactly what he achieved on his own (he also made the semifinals in '01 when he was between coaches) and not quite as good as his achievements with Felgate (semifinals in '98 and '99).

With Henman in London and Stefanki a resident of California, the travel arrangements have always been complicated, and now it seems Stefanki will be asked to travel to fewer tournaments.

"Given the situation with us living so far apart we both feel it's more beneficial to spend work on my game for a 10 days or two weeks at a time rather than having Larry with me at tournaments," said Henman. "That's where it has the biggest impact. Once we're away at tournaments there isn't much for him to do."

SERVE 'EM UP
Perhaps he feels, as former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash does, that Stefanki has done quite enough already. Writing a ghosted column in the Sunday Times last weekend Cash made a link between Stefanki prolonged tinkering with Henman's once powerful serve (to give it more spin) and Henman's shoulder problems.

There is no doubt that Henman's serve has not been as potent a weapon since Stefanki has been encouraging him to value consistency over power. As for the shoulder, Henman is 28 and it might be a result of wear and tear even if the coincidence seems strange to the conspiracy theorists.

Cash and Henman are not exactly bosom buddies either and the Australian is apt to make mischief in British newspapers at this time of year. "Cash is Cash," was Henman's succinct answer, with a shrug and a smile.

Henman has learned to employ a sense of humor at such times, perhaps as a defense mechanism to help him cope as the pressure level rises.

In his match against Voltchkov, a malfunctioning speed gun registered a second serve of Henman's at 583 miles an hour, a sweet irony that had the Brits in the press box giggling. "It's faster than Concorde," trilled one sexagenarian hack. "I saw you lot getting all excited about that one," said Henman, smirking at his inquisitors in the press conference after the match. He was in a mood to gently tease his little gang of followers. "Simple things …" he said, rolling his eyes.