Henman Looks Beyond Rib Injury With Eagerness for a Fitter Year

Tim Henman, ever the optimist, did his best yesterday to put a positive spin on the latest of a sequence of injuries that has forced him to pull out of the Paris Indoor Open, a tournament he won two years ago.

"The one positive thing is that the season is now over for me and mentally I can move on and look forward to next year. First I have to recover from this but, once I do, my goal is to work as hard as possible in the off season so that I can start next year in the best possible shape."

Henman, 31 last month, injured his rib cartilage during his defeat by Andy Murray in Basle last week. "I didn't feel anything during the match but the next morning I woke up and knew I was in trouble. I went for a couple of scans that revealed I'd fractured the cartilage of one of my ribs."

After winning the Paris title in 2003, his biggest tournament victory, Henman went on to have his best season at grand slam level, reaching the semi-finals of the French and US Opens and qualifying for the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston.

Unfortunately this success took a huge toll on his body. "Last year I was exhausted after Houston and had to spend much of the off season winding down. This year's been difficult as I've had to contend with so many injuries and at this level, if you're trying to compete when not fully fit, then it's going to be a struggle."

Any thoughts of retirement remain towards the back of his mind. "I'm very motivated and ready to start working hard to get off to the best possible start next year, when I plan to play a full schedule."

Henman has not won a tournament since his Paris triumph two years ago and this year he has not once gone beyond the quarter-finals of any event. For all his optimism, the dark shadow of enforced retirement within the next six month now appears more of a probability than a mere possibility.