Before Andy Murray, There Was....

The grass court season [if we can call just three grass court events a season] is upon us and the lush, freshly mowed lawns of the "All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club" beckon the tennis world's attention towards them like a soprano taking the centre stage.

And when talks turn towards vintage Wimbledon, how can one forget its "perpetual semi-finalist" : the one who was the hope rising in every Brit's eyes, year in, and year out, till the day he finally decided to hang up his racquets thus shushing all the fostered hopes forever.

Tim Henman! He was the ultimate poster boy of British tennis till Andy Murray came chugging around adding his own contributions and furtherance to the sport; and even now, when Andy Murray has perhaps fared better than Henman, no one can deny or shrug non-chalantly at Henman's servitude to the sport in the nation.

A silver medallist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Henman was the most successful player for the United Kingdom before the advent of Murray and since Ross Taylor in the 70s, though unfortunately he couldn't, at any point of time, go beyond the semi-finals at the slam level.

It's however ironic that most of each and every one of his semi-final opponent has gone on to win the Championship - Pete Sampras in Wimbledon 1998 and 1999, Goran Ivansevic in Wimbledon 2001, Hewitt in Wimbledon 2002 and Roger Federer in US Open 2004.

Boasting of a serve and a volley game which was best suited to the meadows of Wimbledon, Henman has enjoyed most of his successes there, though he sadly remains uncredited for his efforts without a slam at the prestigious venue.

Before Mario Ancic defeated Roger Federer in 2002 Wimbledon and gained his reputation, Henman would have perhaps held that title by defeating Federer at the 2001 Wimbledon QF, who had in turn stunned Pete Sampras in the fourth round.

Other than Wimbledon, Henman has enjoyed moderate runs of form at the French[especially 2004 RG] and the US Opens; the slam Down Under though was arguably, the least gracious to him never allowing him to fare well.

Apart from his slam track record, Henman does have one ATP Masters title to his credit: Paris 2003 and has managed to qualify for the year end Masters Cup on more than one occasion, though there again he couldn't enjoy much success.

Henman however has one dubious distinction - when he was asked to bow out of the Wimbledon tournament in 1995 due to his intolerable behaviour, he became the first player in the history of the grass court event to be judged in such a grim fashion.

And while this doesn't deter any accolades that he rightly deserves, it will be a perennial dark spot on what is otherwise an illustrious career in the world of tennis.

To end events on a high; after powering a superb victory for United Kingdom against Croatia in their Davis Cup tie in 2007 and making sure that UK was firmly placed to play in the World Group play-offs the next year, Henman bid adieu to his beloved sport, gaining respect and love not just in UK but also across the world, inside every fan's heart who truly cherishes the sport and the players who adorn it with their spell binding performance.