Tim Henman dismissed talk of retirement after his crushing Wimbledon defeat by the world No 1 Roger Federer yesterday.

Federer gave a masterclass of powerful grass-court tennis as he inflicted a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 defeat in just 1 hour 24 minutes that silenced the Centre Court crowd.

The Oxfordshire ace, unseeded this year for the first time since 1996, was blown away after holding his own in the early stages of a second-round match that was never a contest.

But he says he sees no reason not to come back to SW19 in 12 months' time.

"I've definitely got a few more years," said Tim.

"Roger's the best player I've ever played against because it's difficult to have an impact on any area of his game.

Henman showed his intentions with an aggressive serve-and-volley first point, and the atmosphere was electric as some English fans sensed an upset.

But once the defending champion had broken in the third game, and seen out the set, he moved up a gear and was merciless as he steamrollered the next 11 games.

The Swiss maestro's precision was awesome. At least ten times he found the lines or the corners with his winners.

But even he admitted he felt a bit bad for completing such a demolition job on someone he likes.

"It's not a lot of fun beating a friend like that," Federer said.

"I'm a little surprised how well I'm playing this early in the tournament. It's probably the best I've played at this stage and I'm really pleased to have come through two difficult early matchers the way I have."

Four times Henman has reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon, but it's hard to see him ever getting beyond the quarters again.

Yet he has been pleased overall with his form, and his win over Andre Agassi at Queen's has helped to convince him to carry on.

"I still think there are plenty of challenges for me," he added.