Monday, August 13, 2001
'48 Hours' rerun no joke to Henman
Rain prolongs loss to Kuerten in semis
By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON — For the second straight year, Tim Henman reached the final day of Tennis Masters Series Cincinnati. This time, though, it wasn't for the finals.
The 2000 runner-up lost his rain-delayed semifinal Sunday to eventual champion Gustavo Kuerten, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (4). It occurred over two days — spanning 17 1/2 hours including rain delays — and was a vivid reminder of his three-day Wimbledon semifinal defeat last month, in which Henman was dominating before rain allowed Goran Ivanisevic time to regroup.
Henman was rolling Saturday, up 5-1 in the second set, when rain suspended play.
“I think this is different (than at Wimbledon),” Henman said. “In that set (against Kuerten), I had momentum. But the nature of the match is that it's going to boil down to a third set.”
Kuerten was grateful for the suspension.
“The way it stopped the match was helpful because I was not feeling too good, and he was playing much better than me,” Kuerten said.
The players decided jointly when to resume. They chose 11:30 a.m. (though they didn't start until 11:52) so they would be rested. Both said they got about six hours of sleep.
Henman beat Kuerten last year in a similar match: a third-set tiebreak in the semis.
“Last year, it went my way; this year it didn't,” Henman said. “That's the way it goes.”
Henman, a top 10 fixture the past four years, is a three-time Wimbledon semifinalist. But he has never been in a Grand Slam final and has reached just one Tennis Masters Series final.
“If I keep putting myself in these situations, then I can win one of the big ones,” he said.
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'48 Hours' rerun no joke to Henman