Tim Henman plans to follow the example of the evergreen Andre Agassi by
peaking in his early 30s.
Henman is still looking for his first singles victory of the season, having
lost his opening matches in the two tournaments he has played since recovering
from injury.
Henman takes on Jan-Michael Gambill in the first round of the Pacific Life Open
later, a Masters Series event where Henman was a finalist a year ago.
But Gambill claimed a title last week at Delray Beach, so Henman will have his
work cut out against the American.
Regardless of current results, Henman, 28, believes he can carry on playing at
the highest level for another five years, despite being troubled by a
shoulder injury for the past six months.
"I honestly feel that I've got so much more to achieve in the game, and I've
still got a huge desire and passion to keep improving," he said.
"That's why you look at someone like Agassi, who I think is 33 this year, and
seems like he's playing better than ever.
"I don't see there's any reason why my enthusiasm won't be at the same level
at the same age."
Agassi won the Australian Open in January and is picking and choosing his
tournaments to ensure he avoids burn-out, staying fit to give him the best
chance of success in Masters Series and Grand Slam events.
Henman, still without a Grand Slam title in his career, will take a tumble
down the world rankings should he lose early in Indian Wells, giving up the
points he earned for reaching last year's final, where he lost to Lleyton
Hewitt.
"I'm aware of that, but that's really not in the forefront of my mind," he
added.
"Just with the nature of the way I played 12 months ago, it's probably
inevitable that my ranking will dip a little bit.
"But in the big scheme of things, looking at the next five years, if I have
a dip in the rankings in the short-term, I know that the way I've been playing
, it won't be long before my ranking goes back up to the sharp end.
"Just to be playing pain-free, focusing on my matches without any second
thoughts about my shoulder, is a great feeling to have."
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嗯，Agassi在30歲後的成就，真的激勵了很多漸漸上了年紀的選手、老將…
姑且不論Henman有無可能（他是發球上網，老實說比底線選手難撐…），現今
男網的現象：老將還有雄厚本錢可拼、中生代欲東山再起，新生代則處於不定的態勢
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