“Nothing.” That’s what Tim Henman’s answer was when he was asked what he misses most about tennis. It was an answer that was as honest as it was perhaps blunt. He reached the semi-final of Wimbledon four times – 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002. Each time, he came up against unstoppable foes. Henmania rose and fell every year in Great Britain in his time – yet his inability to take his serve and volley game to the top will rankle… the fact that he was so close, yet so far… so many times. That has to rankle. The British star maxed out at number four in the world rankings – even reaching the semi-finals of the French Open and the US Open in 2004 but that was his limit. It was also probably the limit for serve and volley. We’ve seen the odd upset caused by a serve and volleyer (most notably Sergei Stakhovsky vs Roger Federer at Wimbledon last year) but usually if a serve and volleyer comes up against a baseliner – the odds will almost always favour the latter. [caption id=“attachment_1337521” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Tim Henman coaching kids in Mumbai. PTI[/caption] Henman is in Mumbai and was training children at the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association courts on Monday morning. The children lined-up at two sides of the court and watched probably the last top-level exponent of the serve and volley game show off his shots. There was always a certain smoothness to Henman’s game – unlike Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal who seem to throw the kitchen sink at every ball, the former world number 4 relied on timing and precision to get the job job. That smoothness is still very much part of the way Henman operates, but sadly it seems his craft is not going to find many takers in the international game. Even among the children, while many of the U-14 youngsters seemed comfortable playing from the back of the court, few knew what they were doing when they got closer to the net. It’s the same in the international arena – while players know how to serve and volley, few are prepared to take an all or nothing gamble. It calls for guts, bravado and a special brand of madness. “These days everyone seems to focus on their forehand, the backhand and the serve. With the slower courts and heavier balls, it only makes sense. For serve and volley to come back, we need faster courts. Until that happens, it is going to be tough,” Henman said. However, now, there are people who believe that serve and volley might stage a comeback now. The belief stems from the appointment of Boris Becker (Novak Djokovic) and Stefan Edberg (Roger Federer) as coaches. Both were ultra-aggressive serve and volleyers and if Federer and Djokovic are looking to do something different. This might be their chance. But Henman disagrees. Nothing is going to change, according to him. “I don’t think we are going to see their players change their games too much. Djokovic is a baseliner and expect him to continue along the same lines. But it will be interesting to see what impact the experience of all these former champions has on the games of the Djokovic and Roger. Will it make them better?” India, GB in the same boat Strangely enough, India and Great Britain are in the virtually same boat as far as tennis is concerned – both countries have just one player in the top 100 of the ATP men’s rankings. The big difference being that Great Britain’s representative is Andy Murray (world number 4) and India’s representative is Somdev Devvarman (world number 97). Also common among both countries is how they seem to follow tennis for only the two-week periods that make up the Major tournaments. The rest of the year is usually a blur of football and cricket. The problem for both countries is also similar: attracting and keeping talent. “I look at the children here and there have good talent and strokes. But the physical aspects need to be worked on. That is very important. In UK – where we have man champions in other sports – and perhaps in India too – we spot good talent, those with good hand-eye co-ordination and face a battle to keep them from going over into other sports like football, cricket, rugby. That is the challenge,” he said. Then there is the obvious ‘catch them young’ formula, a residential academy helps too as does travelling to get experience. “I was lucky to spotted by David Lloyds early and I trained there for six years (he even came to India). Luckily the focus was then on grasscourts and that is why I grew up playing the way I do. So as long as you can do things right, everyone has a chance. But it’s never easy,” Henman said. And sometimes retirement isn’t very easy on the really good players either. For two weeks every year stretching from June-end to July, Great Britain immersed itself in a ritual called Henmania. There was even a Henman Hill at Wimbledon where the faithful gathered to cheer their hero on. So does he miss it, does he miss the madness, does he miss the hysetria? “Not really. It was good fun but all those mornings getting up early and working hard on the court, travelling… I don’t miss that. But I do, however, still love the game of tennis. That I miss.” Watch the full interview in the video above