No more Mr. Nice Guy - Tim

Players Under the Microscope / Editor / 08 May 2007 / Leave a Comment

Tim Henman has admitted he may have to get nasty in his quest to turn around his disappointing 2007 campaign.

The British number two suffered another blow in his bid to get back amongst the big guns with an early 7-5 6-1 exit in the Rome Masters at the hands of Spain's Nicolas Almagro on Monday.

The 32-year-old, still feeling his way back to full fitness from the back injury which contributed to his first-round exit at the Monte Carlo Masters, must now hope his ranking gets him into the Hamburg Masters Series next week in his last warm-up tournament before the French Open, which starts on June 10.

In the meantime, Henman is fully aware of where his game needs to improve.

"I feel I have to be aggressive to stand a chance of winning but that means I have to take risks and sometimes I end up paying the price for that," he told his official website.

Henman is hoping to get an invite to the Hamburg Masters Series - for which Spain's clay-court king, Rafael Nadal, is trading as Betfair's early 1.77 favourite - despite acknowledging the surface does not suit his game.

"If I get in the conditions there don't really suit my game but it would be good to get back on the match court," he said.

"If I don't sneak into the main draw then I'll just concentrate my efforts on getting ready for the French Open."

Nadal, meanwhile, has yet to win in Hamburg and faces stiff competition from 2006 champion, Tommy Robredo, available at a huge 190 to defend his title, and three-time winner, Roger Federer (3.65).