... was British No. 1 from 1999 to 2005, when he was succeeded by Andy Murray. He won 15 career titles on the ATP tour (11 in singles and four in doubles), including the Paris Masters in 2003. He never reached the final of a Grand Slam tournament, but he did reach six semi–finals. He was the first British player to reach the semi–finals of the Men's Singles at Wimbledon since Roger Taylor in 1973; Henman achieved this four times (compared with Taylor's three) – in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002.
The closest he came to a Grand Slam singles final was probably at Wimbledon in 2001. He beat Roger Federer in the quarter–final, and in the semi–final he played the Croatian wild–card entrant Goran Ivanisevic. Henman lost the first set, but came back to lead by two sets to one – winning the third set 6–0. The match was then interrupted by rain, and the players were forced to return the following day. In the fourth set Henman was just two points from victory at one point, but Ivanisevic eventually won the set on a tie–break. Five games into the deciding set, rain stopped play again; on the third day Henman struggled to find his best form, and Ivanisevic was able to wrap up the epic match.
Henman was known throughout his career as a grass specialist, preferring a serve–and–volley style. He only became truly comfortable on clay and hard courts towards the end of his career; in 2004 he reached the semi–finals in both the French and US Opens. His decline began in 2005, and from that year onwards he never managed to get past the third round in a Grand Slam tournament. He retired from professional tennis in late 2007.
He was one of Britain's most successful male tennis players of the open era, winning $11,635,542 in prize money. He was appointed an OBE in the 2004 New Year Honours.
© Haydn Thompson 2017