Sport 24-06-2005 Henman Fails To Make Third Round who: Tim Henman what: Loses 3-6 6-2 3-6 6-3 8-6 to Dmitry Tursunov in Wimbledon second round where: All England Club, LONDON when: Thursday snippet: Tim Henman was beaten on his favourite court by a player ranked 152nd in the world, making his exit from Wimbledon in the second round and leading critics to the conclusion that he may never win a major title. It`s the "end of road for [the] grumpy old man," says The Telegraph`s headline after unseeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov beat the British No.1 3-6 6-2 3-6 6-3 8-6 in an extremely tight match. "It will be the first time since 1995 that SW19`s favourite son will not appear in the competition`s second week," recalls The Times. "He had barely scraped this far, requiring five sets to beat Jarkko Nieminen in the first round." To literally add insult, Henman disgraced himself with a series of expletives that forced BBC commentators to apologise on his behalf. "Make some f***ing noise, it`s f***ing unbelieveable," he urged the crowd at one point. Later he turned on a ball boy and snarled "I hope someone can get their head out of their arses and get me a Coke out here". When asked afterwards if he would consider retiring, he snapped back indignantly. "I would think about it if all of you who are ninth best in the world and below quit with me," he says, ignoring the certainty that he will slip out of the Top Ten after Wimbledon. "But there wouldn`t be many of you left, would there? I keep trying. You know, why not? I love what I do. I`m still pretty good at it." And as one British hero slinks into the shadows, another steps into the Centre Court limelight. "Tim Who?" wonders The Mirror as it introduces us to the current world No.312, 18-year-old Scotsman Andy Murray, who overcame the Czech Republic`s 14th seed and world No.13 Radek Stepanek on Thursday in straight sets, 6-4 6-4 6-4. "His growing popularity among the masses is such that Henman Hill, England, has now been twinned with Murrayfield, Scotland," says The Telegraph. And, most crushingly of all, Howard Swains of The Times says "it was almost as though Henman had never been here at all". "Murray threw his racket into orbit, danced as if prancing on hot coals, contorted his mouth into new shapes and orchestrated the crowd`s applause as if it were somehow not enough," says The Guardian`s Richard Jago, describing the end of the match. "This was clearly a Scottish dance and not an English one." "I am happy because this is my first Wimbledon and I knew that Tim had just lost," he says, quoted in The Sun. "I wanted to keep the Brits going because I knew we`d get major hassle if I lost." Greg Rusedski, for his part, beat Spain`s Alberto Martin 6-3 4-6 6-2 6-1 on Monday but fell 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 in the second round to Joachim Johansson in what The Scotsman`s Stuart Bathgate calls an "honourable defeat". "Rusedski battled hard, with the crowd urging him on in the gathering gloom," says the BBC. "But Johansson`s serve allied with the greater variety of strokes in his all-round game were too much for his unseeded opponent." Britain`s last hope in the ladies` singles, Jane O`Donoghue, was beaten 6-2 6-1 in the second round by Nathalie Dechy on Thursday. Another notable exit on Thursday was by Rafael Nadal, the 19 year-old French Open winner, who lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to the 69th-ranked Gilles Muller. "Now Muller faces another of the teenagers," says The Mirror, "19-year-old Richard Gasquet of France who at 19 years and six days is two weeks younger than Nadal." In the ladies singles, the Williams sisters have both qualified for the third round but Russian second seed and defending champion Maria Sharapova looks very strong, trouncing Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-2 6-2 in the first round and 15-year-old Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva 6-0, 6-1 in the second. The Sun`s "Gruntometer" says Sharapova is the loudest player on the court. "Her ear-splitting yells have sparked controversy and complaints in past tournaments," reckon reporters Virginia Wheeler and Paul Thompson. "In fact they`re as offensive to the ear as Joe Dolce`s infamous 1981 hit Shaddap You Face which is what we`re hoping Maria will do." [... more]

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