Post by Taxigirl on Jun 29, 2004 10:44:50 GMT
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/3848527.stm
By Piers Newbery
BBC Sport at Wimbledon
Tim Henman admitted he had felt the tension towards the end of his win over Mark Philippoussis, but was delighted with how he came through.
"The atmosphere was just incredible and it was a lot of fun out there," he said after the four-set victory.
"Sure, you're going to be tight, we were both tight. There were a lot of important points out there.
"The big difference today was that in the fourth set tie-break I was very focused and trusting my serve."
And the British number one denied he took any pleasure from putting the home crowd through another tense affair.
"I can't say it's on purpose," he said. "I'm up two sets to one, I'm in a tie-break and of course I want to finish it off.
"There is a lot of tension. I'm aware of it and you can feel it in the crowd.
"They're going to feed off what they see, they don't need encouragement. They're excited by me winning games and sets and I can use them to my advantage."
And Henman is confident he can repeat the performance against unseeded Croat Mario Ancic in the quarter-finals.
"I've got to continue the good things I did today," he said. "Make him play a lot of balls on return and take care of my serve, and I think I've got a good chance."
Philippoussis was upset by a number of line calls during the match, and was warned for an audible obscenity, but denied they had lost him the match.
"It happens all the time and it didn't cost me the match," he said. "That's tennis for you."
And last year's runner-up paid tribute to Henman's performance.
"Tim came out firing," he said, "but as the match went on I was making him play.
"In the fourth set tie-break it was close and it could have gone to a fifth, but he deserved it in the end."
By Piers Newbery
BBC Sport at Wimbledon
Tim Henman admitted he had felt the tension towards the end of his win over Mark Philippoussis, but was delighted with how he came through.
"The atmosphere was just incredible and it was a lot of fun out there," he said after the four-set victory.
"Sure, you're going to be tight, we were both tight. There were a lot of important points out there.
"The big difference today was that in the fourth set tie-break I was very focused and trusting my serve."
And the British number one denied he took any pleasure from putting the home crowd through another tense affair.
"I can't say it's on purpose," he said. "I'm up two sets to one, I'm in a tie-break and of course I want to finish it off.
"There is a lot of tension. I'm aware of it and you can feel it in the crowd.
"They're going to feed off what they see, they don't need encouragement. They're excited by me winning games and sets and I can use them to my advantage."
And Henman is confident he can repeat the performance against unseeded Croat Mario Ancic in the quarter-finals.
"I've got to continue the good things I did today," he said. "Make him play a lot of balls on return and take care of my serve, and I think I've got a good chance."
Philippoussis was upset by a number of line calls during the match, and was warned for an audible obscenity, but denied they had lost him the match.
"It happens all the time and it didn't cost me the match," he said. "That's tennis for you."
And last year's runner-up paid tribute to Henman's performance.
"Tim came out firing," he said, "but as the match went on I was making him play.
"In the fourth set tie-break it was close and it could have gone to a fifth, but he deserved it in the end."