TENNIS US OPEN: Tim Henman's days of wine and roses, the days of being seeded in the top 16 at the major championships and holding down a place in the world's top 10, have in all probability gone for ever.
Understandably he retains a self-belief that he can be a contender again, but there was little in his US Open first-round straight-sets defeat by Andy Roddick, the world number four, at Flushing Meadows to suggest such belief will be translated into reality as the British number one approaches his 29th birthday next month.
Henman, who has no alternative but to remain positive in public, will cling to the moment on the Arthur Ashe centre court when he served for the second set at 5-4. This was the high point, the moment under the stadium's floodlights when he might, just might, have undermined Roddick's confidence.
Three blistering returns and a double fault later and Henman's night was done, Roddick winning 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. "Andy is playing better than anybody in the world right now," said Henman, well aware that he was stating the obvious, with the American having now won 21 out of 22 hard court matches in the US since losing to Roger Federer in the semi-finals at Wimbledon.
The one dark spot for Roddick was his defeat by Henman in Washington in early August. A great deal of weight was put on that victory, and the fact that Henman went on to claim his 10th career title, but in terms of what happened early yesterday morning it was pretty much an irrelevance.
Roddick and his coach Brad Gilbert had worked out precisely what was needed to reverse that defeat, whereas Henman and his American coach Larry Stefanki clearly hoped that more of the same would be enough. It was obvious from the start who had worked the harder, with Roddick grabbing an instantaneous psychological advantage when he lashed a backhand winner past a startled Henman.
Midway through the first set the sweat was glistening on Henman's neck as he strained to contain Roddick's thunderous power. Henman mumbled to himself and rehearsed the counter-shots between points, though at this stage the Roddick rip tide was in full spate.
The American was mixing up his serve beautifully and playing with almost complete authority from the baseline. As for his weaker backhand, he revealed: "Brad told me, 'Don't hesitate. Pick a spot and hit it. When you hit it well it's going to be a winner'." And Roddick did precisely that.
Even when Roddick wobbled in the second set, twice losing his serve, Henman never exuded any great belief that he was going to turn the tide. And, once the one opening was dashed violently from his grasp, the end came with a finality that brooked not the slightest argument.
Henman, currently world number 33 and destined to slide further down the rankings after this defeat, will now concentrate all his energies on the Davis Cup world group qualifying round in Casablanca next month, together with the indoor tournaments in Vienna, Madrid, Basle and Paris.
"I'd like to think that I can finish the year inside the top 20. If I can play a full schedule next year I don't see there is any reason why I shouldn't be back up high pretty soon," he said. On the plus side his shoulder, operated on last year, appears to be holding up, although whether the suspect joint can stand the ravages of a full season remains doubtful.
There were obvious signs at Wimbledon that the power and snap in Henman's ground shots, which were never huge in the first place, had lost edge, and his first serve is eminently returnable, as Roddick showed when the chips were down at 5-4 in the second set. The American has weapons of mass destruction; Henman can only lob the occasional grenade.
The game moves on and Henman is being left behind just as surely as Greg Rusedski. They may still have their moments on the ATP Tour, but at the grand slams the force and power of youth has all but brushed them aside.
Amelie Mauresmo, who has had back problems for much of this year but in the Williams sisters' absence believes she has a genuine chance of winning her first grand slam title here, reached the third round with a 6-2, 6-2 win over another French player, Stephanie Cohen-Aloro, yesterday. Mauresmo reached the Australian Open final in 1999 but has not gone beyond the last four of a slam since.
