SW19 chiefs won't fast-track Henman
Tim Henman is certain to fail in his plea to get the Wimbledon courts and balls speeded up.
The British No1 lost his US Open semi-final to eventual champion Roger Federer in straight sets. He reckons the Flushing Meadows centre court is twice as fast as the grass at Wimbledon and is calling for the All England Club to help him achieve that elusive first Grand Slam victory.
His plea comes as the film Wimbledon goes on general release in Britain, telling the tale of a fading British player winning the ultimate tennis title.
However, Wimbledon chiefs today insisted they had not slowed down the only remaining grasscourt Slam to make it a better television spectacle and dismissed the idea of "doctoring the wicket" to help a British men's player win a first title since Fred Perry in 1936.
Chris Gorringe, the All England club's chief executive, said: "No one wants Tim or Greg [Rusedski] to win Wimbledon more than us, but it's not the right thing to prepare a court for just two people.
"Tim knows the score. If he believes the US Open centre court is twice as fast as Wimbledon's, why wasn't he serve-and-volleying on every point against Federer?
"The general view is we want to be fair to all competitors and we are not in the business of changing things. We have statistics that show the pressure of the balls we use is the same as eight years ago and so is the compound.
"Changes to the court do occur from time to time due to climatic factors but the height of the grass is the same every year and so is the seed mix."
But Henman is adamant Wimbledon has fallen behind other Slam tournaments in terms of court speed. He said: "Wimbledon is probably one of the slowest tournaments of the year with the way the conditions are now.
"I have asked the AEC on several occasions about this. It does surprise me that they don't help a British player and I will probably ask them again about this."
Meanwhile, Federer is setting a standard few can live with. He claimed his third Grand slam of the year by destroying Lleyton Hewitt 6-0, 7-6, 6-0 in the final.
The Swiss world No1 only needs the French Open to complete the full set and his all-round game makes it a case of when rather than if he triumphs in Paris. Pete Sampras, who won a record 14 Slams, never mastered the red clay of Roland Garros and it will always count against him when any debate over the greatest player of all time is held. Federer already has two Wimbledon crowns and the Australian and US Opens to his name.
It took him only one hour and 51 minutes to demolish his Australian opponent, the opening set lasting 18 minutes. It was the latest in Federer's remarkable Slam performances and suggests that John McEnroe may be correct in heralding the 23-year-old as the best player he has ever seen.
Federer is even surprising himself and said: "I still cannot believe I have won three of the four Slams. It's fantastic. I like being a tennis superstar.
"I never thought I had a chance of achieving this kind of success after the long season last year. It's insane that I've won three Slams and I can't believe I have played back-to-back seasons like this."
Henman, who today equalled his career best world No4 ranking, described Federer as being "head and shoulders" above the rest.
Federer is now more than 2,500 ranking points ahead of secondplaced Andy Roddick and that makes him the No1 for at least another year. He has become the only player in the Open era to win his first four Slam finals and equalled Mats Wilander's performance-in 1988 by winning three of the major titles in a calendar year. Rod Laver and Jimmy Connors are the others who have achieved that.
Federer said: "I got the start I was dreaming of against Lleyton and not in my wildest dream did I think I'd win the US Open. Once I take some time off at the end of the year I will be thinking 'How did I do all this?' I know I can play well in Paris and I have enough years to accomplish that target."
The women's title was won by Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova who beat compatriot Elena Dementieva in straight sets. She became Russia's third Grand Slam champion of the year after Anastasia Myskina's win in Paris and Maria Sharapova's triumph at SW19.
