Win-bledon.

It's Wimbledon time again! I love Wimbledon so much, it's a summer highlight every year. As English as strawberries and cream, the St George cross and cups of tea by a red post box as Alan Bennett recites a Shakespearian sonnet from the inside of an MG Midget.

I fell in love with Wimbledon when I was 11 during the 1996 Wimbledon championships. The reason was one player...Tim Henman. It wasn't a crush, I was too young for that. I just got right into the public hysteria that was early Henmania. The press had caught on to this new young player who had climbed 200 places up the world rankings in 2 years. Suddenly Britain had their first big hope for a Wimbledon champ in nearly 20 years. I'm nothing if not loyal so my belief and admiration for Tiger Tim didn't wane in over a decade. I was always the person who stood up to armchair pundits who spouted cliches such as, "he just doesn't want it enough". The golden age was 1996-2004 when Tim reached 4 quarter finals and 4 semi finals, almost always going out to the eventual winner. Doesn't sound like an average player, an underachiever or a bottler does it? But the British love to put our own down and unless our sportsmen are winning everything they are easy to label as "shit".

Well I'm pledging my allegiance to the Henman! My point is that, for me, Tim was Wimbledon. He made me take notice of the tournament, he was a great player who carried British tennis on his shoulders for a decade, he showed amazing grace under pressure and he brought the country together once a year in a way that could only be matched by England in the World Cup. And there will always be an England FC, but there will only ever be one Tim Henman.

I wish so much still that he'd been able to get that last ounce of luck that was all he required to finally win Wimbledon. I miss the way we had a British player who seemed to claw his way to near-victory with spirit and determination alone. I'd love to see Andy Murray win Wimbledon, it would be fantastic and he surely will win in the next 5 years. But something just isn't the same....Tim seemed to have to work harder to achieve the levels of greatness that Murray can and had a vulnerability Murray lacks. Yes, Andy is a better player. But if he wins Wimbledon next week I just won't be lifted in the same way I would have been in Tim had gone that one stage further and won. So this sycophantic blog salutes you Tim Henman. For me British tennis will always make me think, "Come on, Tim!".