Tim Henman on Roger Federer retirement talk: Time to quit when it feels like a ‘job’

Tim Henman is one of only a few men to beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon. Clive Rose / Getty

ABU DHABI // While Roger Federer has acknowledged that retiring from tennis had crossed his mind, one former elite player has revealed the challenges of finding the perfect time to hang up the racquet for good.

Tim Henman, 40, who took part in the Tennis at the Palace exhibition at Emirates Palace this year, retired in September 2007 after helping Britain beat Croatia in the Davis Cup at one of his favourite venues — ­Wimbledon.

The chance to sign off a 15-year career on the courts where his name was so well known seemed fitting, and his final singles match saw him beat Roko Karanusic in straight sets before he partnered with Jamie Murray to win their doubles match against Marin Cilic and Lovro Zovko in four sets.

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Henman said that finding the ideal moment to walk away is not always straightforward.

“When you are starting it is much easier because everything is in front of you,” he said during his visit to Abu Dhabi. “If you are ranked 1,000th you want to be 500th in the world and so on, and there are all these tournaments you want to get into and go on to win.

“When it gets to the other end it is harder. Do I play a full year? Do I play up to a certain event? Those are the questions you immediately think when you have the thought in your mind, so for me it was absolutely perfect to finish at Wimbledon.”

In Henman’s case he had not thought for too long about quitting. He had a back injury and had fallen outside the top 50 in the ATP rankings having previously been as high as fourth.

The catalyst came through a conversation with his coach, Paul Annacone, as they prepared to head to the United States in the summer of 2007 after he had exited Wimbledon in the second round, far short of his runs to the semi-finals in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002.

“It was in July, early August and I was in America playing the hard-court tournaments in the lead-up to the US Open,” Henman said.

“I was struggling with my back a bit and I had been at the top end of the game for so long I didn’t feel if my back was getting better. I was spending so much time at the gym and on the practice courts and I was not necessarily getting the rewards that I wanted.

“I was not going to be travelling around the world making up the numbers, and I remember saying to my coach that for the first time ever this is becoming a job and not my hobby.

“He said to me, ‘if you are not enjoying it, don’t do it’. I looked at him and said, ‘what, retire?’ and he said, ‘why do you want to carry on if you don’t enjoy it?’

“As soon as he said that I saw my schedule and I had two Masters series in Toronto and Cincinnati, the US Open and the Davis Cup at Wimbledon and it was just perfect to play and win my last game at Wimbledon where I had so many happy memories.”

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