‘Probably some of the best tennis I ever played’ – Tim Henman on his ATP Masters title win in Paris
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Back in 2003, former British No.1 and world No.4 Tim Henman headed to the Paris ATP Masters 1000 off the back of a tough season.
The six-time Grand Slam semi-finalist had been dealing with an injury and had dropped down the rankings as he prepared for the final Masters event of the season. Little did he know that this would turn out to be one of the best weeks of the British star’s career.
Henman went on to beat an array of stars – including three former world No.1s – on his way to clinching his first and the biggest title of his career.
22 years on from his historic achievement, we caught up with Henman to discuss his title run and the emotions of breaking that barrier for the first time.
“I think it was probably some of the best tennis I ever played,” Henman said reflecting on his performances in the French capital.
“What’s funny is that I had lost in the quarters at Basel the week before and I felt like I played a particularly bad match and wasn’t in a particularly good place.
“I ended up calling Paul Annacone (former coach of Pete Sampras and Roger Federer) and I just asked for his opinion because he was someone I knew well and respected. He gave me a couple of things to ponder ahead of the event.
“In the first round I beat (Nikolay) Davydenko, who was still fairly early in his career but was still top 50 at the time. Then in the second round I had (Sebastian) Grosjean, who I didn’t particularly enjoy playing having beaten me at Queen’s and Wimbledon one year.
“I wasn’t sure on the game plan, so I called Paul again, he gave me a couple of ideas and I ended up beating him. Then all of a sudden, I just felt like I was gaining a bit of momentum. Once I came through those first two matches, then I started to feel better and better.”
His confidence certainly showed in the scorelines facing an impressive calibre of opponent throughout the rest of the tournament.
In the third round he brushed aside three-time Roland Garros champion Gustavo Kuerten in straight sets, before beating the then Wimbledon champion and now 20-time major winner Federer in the quarter-final and world No.1 Andy Roddick in the semis.
When you look back at the draw and the players that I beat, there's three former world No.1s, Davydenko and Grosjean have been in the top five and Pavel top 20 as well.
“Getting Kuerten indoors was always a good matchup for me,” Henman added. “If I didn’t enjoy playing Grosjean, I certainly enjoyed playing Kuerten indoors.
“I think the quarters and the semis against Federer and Roddick, the quality of play and the way I executed my game plan helped me win a lot of the important points in those matches. I take a lot of satisfaction looking back on that.”
Awaiting the Briton in the final was Andrei Pavel, a Romanian player who finished his career with a career-high ranking at No.13, won the Canadian Masters in 2001 and made the Roland Garros semi-finals in 2006.
Despite Pavel’s success in Montreal just two years prior, Henman knew that this was his opportunity to claim his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title, having lost his previous finals in Cincinnati and Indian Wells.
In a best-of-five-set final, the British star came away with a 6-2, 7-6(6), 7-6(2) win to get his hands on the Paris Masters title.
“In some respects that was one of my best matches because I realised the opportunity, the expectation from within to win my first Masters 1000,” he said. “Add to that it was a best of five-set final and I don't think I lost my serve in the final so that was pretty special to finish the week off in that fashion.
“(The scoreline) emphasizes playing the big points well. To win all four tie-breaks in the last two matches is about doing the basics well. I had a very clear game plan. I was hitting my spots well on my serve and was being aggressive moving forward.
“When I had an opportunity, whether that was on my serve or if my opponents missed their first serve, I think it was just playing some of my best tennis at the right time.
“I think there's massive satisfaction in the quality of tennis that I've played and then when you look back at the draw and the players that I beat, there's three former world No.1s, Davydenko and Grosjean have been in the top five and Pavel top 20 as well.
“Then also probably a little bit of relief that once I'd given myself that opportunity to get to the final, I didn't want to mess it up. It was a great week.
“It was a good way to finish off what had been a difficult year, because I'd come back from shoulder surgery. I'd sort of had eight years in the top 25 and that was the first time I'd really slipped out.
“To win that, it set me up well going into 2004, which was ended up probably being my best year.”
This year’s Rolex Paris Masters is just around the corner, with the tournament taking place between 25 October-2 November.
