Tiny Tim Leads US Open Retreat

Cynics have suggested that for the overwhelming majority of people in this country an interest in tennis consists entirely of two feverish summer weeks, known as Wimbledon fortnight, the highlight of which is ‘Henmania’. This is a condition characterised by the tendency for an awful lot of people (most of them female) to display party hats, fancy dress, and a degree of hysteria which is in inverse proportion to their knowledge of the game. And by tradition, this goes on for as long it takes for their hero to survive (which in 2005 wasn’t very long at all).

Though the condition is not confined to Henman, it is noticeable that sufferers are less febrile in the presence of other British hopefuls such as Greg Rusedski and the exciting young prospect Andrew Murray, and completely untroubled as far as the British women’s game is concerned, since in this case there has been no viable prospect whatsoever for some considerable time.

In the face of all this, it’s difficult to be optimistic about the future of British tennis – but the two week frenzy does have certain advantages, not least of which is the fact that the majority are probably blissfully unaware of what is happening in other major tournaments, like the 2005 US Open for instance.

In the first round, Tiny Tim (otherwise known, inexplicably, as ‘Tiger Tim’ during Wimbledon fortnight) has capitulated in straight sets to backache and the talent of a young Spaniard called Fernando Verdasco, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. Less ignominiously, in a match of fluctuating fortunes, Greg Rusedski has fallen to American James Blake who overcame serious injury to get into this year’s Open - Blake won 7-5, 7-6, 6-3.

So while Tim and Greg catch an early plane home, that leaves tournament qualifier Andrew Murray, the real hope of British tennis – because he came from two sets to one down, and the embarrassment of throwing up on court, to defeat Andrei Pavel in a five set marathon 6-3, 3-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. Thereby proving that in addition to considerable talent, he has the passion, determination and above all the courage to succeed. Unfortunately, Andrew will have to wait many months for the opportunity to convince the hibernating majority that he’s no Timless wonder!