These are not normal times in Australia and, as the continent baked, its citizens bruised but unbowed by the sinister swirl of fire and wind, a pale-skinned Englishman embraced a lesser challenge, one that is proving to be a welcome distraction from tragedy.
Captaining Great Britain in the new ATP Cup 12,000 miles from his blazered duties at the All England Club was a mission some thought would not appeal to Tim Henman, especially in the 46C heat that hit Sydney like a hammer on an anvil on Saturday afternoon.
But, having accepted Andy Murray’s invitation to lead the side in the 24-nation competition, he has done the job with an enthusiasm that has rippled through the squad, even as they lost 2-1 to Bulgaria on Friday. His immediate task is to keep them in the competition by beating Belgium on Sunday in the second of their three round-robin ties.
Henman and the team have been as upset as the other hundred-plus players who have gathered in three cities across the sixth largest country in the world, and, as smoke and furnace-level air drifted ominously towards the Olympic tennis centre on western outskirts of the NSW capital, they pledged their support to the many fund-raising initiatives for bushfire relief. Carrying on with business has not been easy for anyone the past few weeks.
As a player, Henman, an elegant six-time grand slam semi-finalist, retained faith in his serve-and-volley game, but never delivered fully on his talent. However, after Great Britain went down fighting on day one, you could hear in his voice he also trusted the players’ instincts.
He thought they all played well against Grigor Dimitrov’s team, and they did for extended periods. The players – a few of whom don’t know him that well – thought Henman was pretty cool, too. After beating Dimitar Kuzmanov in three sets, Cameron Norrie said: “He’s got some good stories from when he was playing and some good experience.”
He surely has. Henman first played here in 1991, winning a junior doubles title with Jamie Delgado, Andy Murray’s coach, and returned for the 2000 Olympics, where he admits he lasted less than an hour. Ups and downs, he knows, are part of the game. As he said of his first mentoring gig: “I have absolutely loved it. I think that’s a reflection on my team, the atmosphere, the way that we’ve prepared, how much fun we’ve had and how well they’ve played.
“I would say my concern at lunchtime [before the early evening start on day one] was whether they could play the way that they’ve practised, because their level has been phenomenal, and they did exactly that. They played brilliant tennis.
“Sometimes these are bitter pills to swallow when you play some great tennis. It’s such small margins. We had match points in the doubles and it didn’t go our way. I’ve been around long enough to know you’ve got to keep putting yourself in that position and hopefully next time it will go our way.”
Norrie thought the court was “extremely slow” but Henman disagreed. “I don’t think the court is particularly slow. I think the ball is heavy and the humidity slows it up. The ball is not flying, so that means you are going to have extended rallies. When you are adding a bit of heat, it’s hard work for the players.”
The temperature is forecast to drop to a relatively comfortable mid-30s on Sunday, but Henman says they have few qualms about the conditions when they are playing under the new canopy on the Ken Rosewall Arena.
“The roof is a huge benefit. We practised on the 31st [of December] and it was 44 degrees. We hit outside for not particularly long, probably 45 minutes, and it was hot. To have this new roof is a huge advantage because it’s unbearably hot, otherwise.”
As for the experience of helplessness sitting the bench, he has handled it surprisingly well for a novice coach. “It is difficult because you don’t have any control. You’re there supporting and you’re doing what you can but it boils down to what goes on between the lines. Having never done it before, I was a lot calmer and more relaxed than I thought I was going to be. The result is hugely disappointing but it won’t detract from how much I enjoyed the day. I thought it was fantastic. Jamie [Murray] made a good point: we started off with 6,000 people [watching the singles] and it was a great atmosphere. But to finish at three in the morning is hard. They started [the tournament] at 10 o’clock in the morning, so I don’t think you can blame the scheduling. I think it was just phenomenal tennis and some long matches.”
Nor is he worried about the increasing number of late finishes in front of small crowds [although Murray is].
“It’s a reflection of how good the tennis is. We said to Cam before his match, ’It’s the first match of the season, you’re playing someone you don’t know particularly well, let’s get in there and work this guy side to side, stay in the rallies.’
“They played four games in 25 minutes. That’s the nature of this sport. The physicality is different, the matches go on longer. That’s the nature of the beast. You’ve got to work hard.” For all his touch and elegance, Henman was never afraid of putting in the hours to prepare for his matches, especially after overcoming a bone condition in his early days. It is something this squad will take away from the experience, win, lose or draw.
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