Henman pins future hopes on fast courts at US Open

While Tim Henman is confident that he will be capable of mounting a serious challenge at Wimbledon again, he admits he may have a better chance of lifting the US Open title.

Asked yesterday if Wimbledon was an impossible dream, he replied: "No it is not. It is not by any stretch of the imagination. Sure, there has been a lot of expectation, a lot of hype and a certain amount of pressure over the years, but that is always the way it's been.

"I still look at my record here and look at the way that I have played - I have played some of my best tennis. It did not work out that way this year, but it is always going to be a special place for me to play.

"It is difficult. There are a lot of positives that go with here and playing on the grass, but I think in terms of the speed of the courts, there is no comparison - the US Open is definitely substantially quicker."

The 30-year-old, who was knocked out of the championships in the second round by the Russian Dmitry Tursunov, is clearly not ready to abandon his ambitions. "I love what I do and I am still not bad at it," he said. "I have always said, if I did not enjoy what I do, I would not do it.

"Yes, the first six months have not been as good as I would have liked, but certainly, when things have settled, I'll get back on the court and get back into the gym and work hard and I am pretty confident there will be some good times ahead."