Henman transformed by aggressive service and self-motivation

After his biggest tournament victory, at the Paris Masters on Sunday evening, Tim Henman treated the media to champagne - allies and critics alike - and then left for the airport to be reunited with his wife, Lucy, and their 10-month-old daughter, Rosie, in London.

His behaviour was in keeping with the "Nice but Tim" image he has acquired in certain quarters - and if that distinguishes Henman from one or two millionaire louts in other sports, "Nice but Tim" will do nicely.

What Henman achieved last week was a long way short of the ultimate in tennis: a triumph at Wimbledon, or one of the three other Grand Slam championships. But the British No 1's calm, stylish displays in defeating Andy Roddick, Roger Federer and Gustavo Kuerten, three of the best players in the world, captivated the French spectators and drew comparison with Stefan Edberg, of Sweden, one of the most elegant competitors ever to grace the courts.

After such a climax to the most difficult season of his career, Henman was ready for peace and quiet with his family before going back to work on his game and his fitness in preparation for the start of next year's schedule. Then, whether he likes it or not, he will be under more pressure than last week in Paris.

Last November, Henman did not have the luxury of preparing himself properly. He was recovering from surgery to his right shoulder, and he has spent most of 2003 trying to catch up. The only match remaining in his diary is an exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall next month in aid of his charity, "Kids at Heart", against Goran Ivanisevic, who denied him at Wimbledon in 2001. After that, it will be back to the practice courts to tune his game before competing in Doha, Qatar, in January, en route to the Australian Open.

Having parted from his American coach, Larry Stefanki, after the United States Open in September, and reverted to serving with more aggression, Henman enjoys taking responsibility for his game. The process has enabled him to improve his world ranking from 40th to 15th.

"I definitely would give Larry a certain amount of credit for my win in Paris, because he's helped my game," Henman said. "I think all coaches would be the first to admit that it's up to the player at the end of the day.

"I've still got plenty to learn and there's still much more to achieve. If I feel that I want to get some advice, then I would still contemplate having a coach."

Henman emphasised that he was "very strong between the ears" in Paris, a comment that could be seen in an amusing context when he went on to reveal the reason why he had played so poorly in losing to Guillermo Coria, of Argentina, at the Rome Masters in May.

"My daughter was with me that week and she was making a lot of noise when she was sleeping," Henman recounted. "I was basically listening to her all the time when she was sleeping. I had some ear-plugs from the airplane. I jammed them in my ears and I slept. I slept amazingly. Didn't hear anything.

"And then I got out of bed that morning and I felt a bit wobbly. I went out on the practice court and still felt pretty strange. I talked to Larry, and we thought the adrenalin would get going on the match court and I'd be fine. I was exhausted after three games.

"I went back to the hotel and thought I would be fine after a good night's sleep. I whacked the ear-plugs in again, slept amazingly. Woke up in the morning, felt even worse. Went to the doctor, who asked if I had problems with my ears. I told him I didn't. He checked - and found I had messed up my middle ear." Rosie was in Paris for the first few days of last week's tournament. "Sleeps in another room now, though."