It is inquisition time again for Tim Henman. Earlier this week he breezed into Sydney singing assurances that yes, Olympic tennis was close to his heart. To clutch a gold would be to realise one of his sweetest dreams, he assured us. But there was more than that. The Olympics offered him a chance to gain a rare perspective as an athlete. The Games, he sighed, allowed him be a fan.
Just as well he enjoys it. After crashing to Karol Kucera in straight sets, the number seven seed has most of a fortnight to queue in the hot sun, to have the Union Jack painted on his face, to eat over-priced hamburgers, to get lost and to participate in any one of a million daily chants of "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi".
"I will continue to take advantage of this and try and see as many events as I can . . . I don't know exactly what yet, tickets are hard to come by. But this is not what I wanted, don't get me wrong. It's a bad loss and I am not trying to gloss over that. You just have to look at the bigger picture."
Although there is still a widespread ambivalence about the worth of Olympic tennis, not helped by the fact that a number of the top seeds can't be bothered showing up, Henman is a disciple.
A silver medallist in men's doubles in Atlanta, there were hopes that the Oxfo rd player would go one better in the singles this time around. But as a warm, dry breeze whistled around the antiseptic stadium in Olympic Park, Henman erred and faltered and fell in straight sets.
Afterwards, as he sat in the tented conference room, polite and mild-mannered as ever, the downcast English press stared at him quizzically. They sought excuses - a hangover from the US Open, the breeze, the consistency of first serves from Kucera.
"We've played 11 times and that was definitely the best he played. I had three break points in the first set and didn't take the opportunity. He played well today, dealt with the conditions better and that's it. Realistically Karol was too good."
Although it is fashionable for the bigger stars to slum it in the athletes village at these Olympics, Henman genuinely relishes the experience. He sat and watched Ian Thorpe on Saturday night, was back at the village to help celebrate cyclist Jason Queally's medal in the time trial that evening and was up for the hockey on Sunday morning.
"It's great when the athletes in another sport do well because it lifts all the Brits in the village. Because of the gold medal won, there is a great buzz within the entire team now, which is really nice to see."
Once the tournament is over, he travels on to Hong Kong to resume training, but is in no hurry.
"I don't know how long I'll be here, I'd like to see a bit of everything, really. But tickets are hard to come by. Maybe I'll have to do some radio commentating. Become a journalist for the week."
Out on court, the home fans were happily raising hell as local girl Jelena Dokic set about dismantling Japan's Ai Sugiyama. Initially hesitant about participating in the Olympics, Dokic has been converted and was overwhelmed by the local reaction.
"It was unbelievable. I was awfully nervous going out there but as the crowd got into it so did I, and it really helped me in the first set. Having the whole Australian team here for support was great as well."
Absent, though, was her controversial father, who has already brushed with the authorities at the Olympic venue. Dokic, shy to begin with, visibly recoiled when the questions concerned her father.
"I doubt my family will be along to watch. They just need a break, travelling around to so many tournaments. They keep up with it all on the TV. It's brilliant anyway just having the support of the rest of the team."
With the Australians on the crest of a gold rush, the possibility of Dokic adding to the tally didn't seem all that far-fetched.
"It would be fantastic," she said, "probably better than a grand slam in a way, even though there are those in tennis that don't seem to think so. But you only get this opportunity every four years and yes, it would be a huge honour to win here."
