Compared with his Aussie opponent Mark Philippoussis, Oxford's Tim Henman should be as fresh as a daisy when he steps on to Centre Court for his fourth-round match this evening.
While the British No 1 was hardly extended as he outclassed Hicham Arazi of Morocco in straight sets in 1 hour 47 minutes on Saturday, Philippousis was close to exhaustion as he overcame Holland's Sjeng Schalken 20-18 in the fifth set on Court No 2 in a marathon lasting more than five hours.
It was equivalent to playing eight sets and went down as the longest match in one day in Wimbledon history. "I hope he's a bit tired," said Henman, smiling, afterwards. "He's a strong guy. He's serving well. I dread to think how many aces he served."
In fact, it was 44. In contrast, Henman barely had to climb out of second gear as he demolished Arazi 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 before a typically vociferous 'People's Saturday' Centre Court crowd who had earlier witnessed an emotion-filled Parade of Champions.
"I think it was a pretty special day for all those people involved, all the spectators and the players. I wasn't going to start my practice until Mr Borg had walked on the court. "Borg was a big hero of mine. For him to come back for the first time in 19 years was pretty special."
Henman knows that, even if Philippoussis is a bit leggy after Saturday, he will be a far sterner challenge than the Moroccan, who was taught a lesson in grass-court tennis by someone whose confidence is soaring by the day.
Henman broke to love in the eighth game to take the first set, broke again, helped by a brilliant backhand overhead, in the third game of the second set and the third set was at times embarrassingly easy as he took complete control at the net with Arazi having long since become resigned to his fate.
"I was very pleased with my performance. I felt I had a good, clear plan in my mind, and I definitely went out there and executed it. I can't fault too many areas of my game today," Henman said.
Philippoussis is nicknamed 'The Scud' because of his booming, missile-like serves, but Henman said he's quite looking forward to facing someone who will serve and volley on both balls. "It's going to be a question of trying to make him play as much as possible," Henman said.
"But I'm under no illusions. It's going to be a very, very tough match and will all come down to who plays best on the day.
"I still feel I'm working my way into the tournament and my game has definitely got better as each match has gone on. I've got through the first week, now when you're into the second week I'll have to regroup and start again."
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