Tim Henman

WIMBLEDON, England -- Things are getting pretty desperate at Wimbledon after rain forced a second straight postponement yesterday -- the first time since 1909 that two straight days have been washed out.While tournament organizers are not publicly panicking, they are considering ways to get the rain-soaked tournament out of the first round.They may schedule matches for tomorrow -- which is usually a day off."We will now have to wait and see what the weather will be before we make the final decision," said Christopher Gorringe, chief executive of the All England Club.

WASHINGTON -- Tennis fans had been so eager for this Legg Mason Tennis Classic. Andre Agassi was coming, and at age 35 with sciatic nerve problems in his back and hip forcing him to the sidelines at the French Open two months ago, who knows how many more opportunities there will be to see one of the game's legendary players? The question remains, and the opportunities shortened by one yesterday. Agassi withdrew before the start of this tournament by faxing a letter to tournament director Jeff Newman voicing his regrets.

PARIS - Guillermo Coria, David Nalbandian, Juan Ignacio Chela, Gaston Gaudio. There was adequate warning before the first ball was struck a week ago that the time had come for the Grand Slam-starved Argentines to overtake the Spanish at the French Open. It's now close to happening and, though there are still a few matches to reach the final four, it's possible there could be an all-Argentine semifinal with Nalbandian vs. Gaudio in the upper half of the draw and Coria playing Chela in the lower half.

NEW YORK - Tim Henman's classic game of serve-and-volley tennis was made invisible yesterday at the U.S. Open. Henman, the 30-year-old Briton with the tidy white clothes and tidy game, was deflated by Roger Federer's precision from both the backhand and forehand sides and punctured by his sharply angled volleys. In only 1 hour, 46 minutes, Federer, the world's top-ranked player, moved into his first U.S. Open final with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over fifth-seeded Henman. In today's final, Federer will face Lleyton Hewitt, the Australian pest who didn't back down from the booming serves of Joachim Johansson and will not back down from Federer's calm pursuit of perfection.

NEW YORK -- Mary Pierce is sitting with friends in the players lounge at the U.S. Open when she's interrupted. She and Orioles second baseman Roberto Alomar have been an item for about a year, and rumors have been swirling.Are you and Alomar engaged, she's asked?"Don't you know?" said Pierce, who was in good spirits after advancing to the third round with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Cara Black. "Don't you know? We're already married with two children."And then she laughed happily as she flashed her left hand, on which she is wearing a ring with seven diamonds.

WIMBLEDON, England - There's at least one American man left at Wimbledon. And he might be joined by one more. While Pete Sampras faltered, No. 2 seed Andre Agassi rolled into the quarterfinals yesterday with a 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 victory over Nicolas Kiefer. Then, as darkness fell, Todd Martin, the quiet American with a patient grass-court game, moved ahead of Britain's Tim Henman, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-4, in a round-of-16 match due to be completed today. The Martin-Henman winner won't get a free ride in the quarterfinals, though, facing Roger Federer, the 19-year-old Swiss who conquered Sampras in five sets.

WIMBLEDON, England -- For England, the World Cup is over, but Wimbledon has just begun.Tim Henman, the last best hope of British men's tennis, overwhelmed No. 3 seed Petr Korda, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, yesterday to storm into the Wimbledon men's semifinals.Henman's triumph came less than 24 hours after the English soccer team was sent packing from the World Cup by Argentina on penalty kicks, in one of those glorious exits that English teams -- and players -- are famous for.The doe-eyed, hard-hitting Henman is out to change the sporting stereotype of the lovable English loser.

WIMBLEDON, England -- Sitting in the players' box, coach David Felgate was just about as miserable as they come. His player, Tim Henman, had more or less choked after taking a two-set lead over No. 5 seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov and was down a break in the fifth set. So Felgate did the logical thing. He started thinking about what he and Henman were going to have to start working on to improve his game."Frankly," said Felgate, "I thought Wimbledon was over."But Wimbledon was not over. The full house that raptly watched Henman at Centre Court refused to let it be over.

WIMBLEDON, England - With Tim Henman the last remaining Englishman in the men's singles of Wimbledon, the British newspaper The Daily Mail posed a question that has been asked in tennis circles here for decades: "Why ARE we such losers?" This time around, the answer could be Sebastien Grosjean, a Frenchman whose brilliant returns of serve put him ahead of Henman, 7-6 (10-8), 3-6, 6-3, 1-2, when play was suspended for the fourth and final time yesterday by rain. Fans booed the decision to halt play overnight, but the lucky ones with tickets today should have a spectacular day of tennis, weather willing.

WIMBLEDON, England - On Radio Wimbledon, Rupert Bell is known as the voice of Tim Henman. Bell, a tennis play-by-play man, is an unabashed Henman homer, openly rooting for Britain's top tennis player. He will urge Henman on, "C'mon, Tim," and shriek when one of Henman's dramatic rallies goes Britain's way. And with the help of the Internet, Bell's voice travels a long, long way on Radio Wimbledon, 87.7 on your FM dial if you're within five miles from the All England Club and www.wimble- don.org if you're online.

PARIS - Guillermo Coria, David Nalbandian, Juan Ignacio Chela, Gaston Gaudio. There was adequate warning before the first ball was struck a week ago that the time had come for the Grand Slam-starved Argentines to overtake the Spanish at the French Open. It's now close to happening and, though there are still a few matches to reach the final four, it's possible there could be an all-Argentine semifinal with Nalbandian vs. Gaudio in the upper half of the draw and Coria playing Chela in the lower half.

NEW YORK - Pete Sampras, winner of a record 14 Grand Slam events, will make his retirement official tonight at the U.S. Open in a ceremony that honors his career. But Andy Roddick, the hottest player in men's tennis this summer, said he won't miss the big guy. "That's OK," said Roddick, 20, when asked about Sampras, who beat him in last year's Open quarterfinals en route to his final Grand Slam title. "That's just one less player that's a threat." For the first time in 32 years at the Open - when Ken Rosewall and Margaret Court were absent - neither the men's nor women's champion will attempt to defend a title.

WASHINGTON - Tim Henman knew what he was up against yesterday afternoon in the final of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. He had practiced with No. 4 Fernando Gonzalez before, played him in three matches and lost two. There were no surprises for Henman, only the opportunity to impose his game - something he hadn't been able to do before. Something he hadn't been able to do for more than a year as he first struggled with a bum shoulder and then began to rebuild his game after surgery in November.

WIMBLEDON, England - With Tim Henman the last remaining Englishman in the men's singles of Wimbledon, the British newspaper The Daily Mail posed a question that has been asked in tennis circles here for decades: "Why ARE we such losers?" This time around, the answer could be Sebastien Grosjean, a Frenchman whose brilliant returns of serve put him ahead of Henman, 7-6 (10-8), 3-6, 6-3, 1-2, when play was suspended for the fourth and final time yesterday by rain. Fans booed the decision to halt play overnight, but the lucky ones with tickets today should have a spectacular day of tennis, weather willing.

WIMBLEDON, England - Maybe next year. There's always that when you're the great British hope, Tim Henman, chasing the ghost of Fred Perry, carrying a country's tennis fortunes on slender shoulders and boundless desire. He's good, just not good enough. Nice instead of nasty. The best active British player never to win his country's great tennis championship. Yesterday, Henman entered his fourth Wimbledon semifinals in his annual bid to become the first British man to claim the title since Perry in 1936.

WIMBLEDON, England - On Radio Wimbledon, Rupert Bell is known as the voice of Tim Henman. Bell, a tennis play-by-play man, is an unabashed Henman homer, openly rooting for Britain's top tennis player. He will urge Henman on, "C'mon, Tim," and shriek when one of Henman's dramatic rallies goes Britain's way. And with the help of the Internet, Bell's voice travels a long, long way on Radio Wimbledon, 87.7 on your FM dial if you're within five miles from the All England Club and www.wimble- don.org if you're online.

WIMBLEDON, England - The last time a British man won Wimbledon, Franklin Roosevelt was in the White House and the Summer Olympics were in Berlin. So you can only imagine the pressure that is piled on the slender shoulders of Britain's only decent home-grown tennis player, Tim Henman. Every year, Henman is billed as the Briton most likely to duplicate the feat of Fred Perry in 1936 and win Wimbledon. And every year Henman fails, including twice in the semifinals, twice in the quarterfinals and, usually, on the 3rd of July.

WASHINGTON -- Tennis fans had been so eager for this Legg Mason Tennis Classic. Andre Agassi was coming, and at age 35 with sciatic nerve problems in his back and hip forcing him to the sidelines at the French Open two months ago, who knows how many more opportunities there will be to see one of the game's legendary players? The question remains, and the opportunities shortened by one yesterday. Agassi withdrew before the start of this tournament by faxing a letter to tournament director Jeff Newman voicing his regrets.

WIMBLEDON, England - The last time a British man won Wimbledon, Franklin Roosevelt was in the White House and the Summer Olympics were in Berlin. So you can only imagine the pressure that is piled on the slender shoulders of Britain's only decent home-grown tennis player, Tim Henman. Every year, Henman is billed as the Briton most likely to duplicate the feat of Fred Perry in 1936 and win Wimbledon. And every year Henman fails, including twice in the semifinals, twice in the quarterfinals and, usually, on the 3rd of July.