Football
Associated Press 17y

Henman gives Brits hope; Sampras watches; Sharapova debuts 'Swan' dress

WIMBLEDON, England -- By the sights and sounds alone
Tuesday, one would have thought Tim Henman ended Britain's 71-year
wait for a Wimbledon men's champion.

His victory over former No. 1 Carlos Moya was indeed theatrical,
what with a 13-11 fifth set, six wasted match points, an overnight
suspension because of darkness and, yes, wild cheering and standing
ovations from Henman's countrymen at Centre Court.

It also, however, was a first-round match. Against a guy playing
on grass for the first time since 2004.

Still, Henman and his fans will take what they can get, and
there was certainly a celebratory mood after he pulled out the 6-3,
1-6, 5-7, 6-2, 13-11 victory to reach the second round. The match
was halted at 5-5 in the fifth set Monday night.

"The atmosphere is second to none. The support I've had, as
I've always had, has been incredible. I've used it to my
advantage," said Henman, a four-time semifinalist at the All
England Club. "Today was another good example of that."

Great shots from Henman were greeted by roars from the stands.
Between points, there were dozens of cries of "Come on, Tim!" or
"You can do it, Timothy!" or "Finish him, Tim! Finish him!" One
brave soul repeatedly called out, "Vamos, Carlos!"

There was plenty of great play, including fantastic exchanges
with both men up at the net, and 1998 French Open champion Moya's
somewhat surprising serve-and-volley forays forward.

The ending was a bit anticlimactic: Moya double-faulted on
Henman's seventh match point.

Henman didn't mind.

"At that stage," he said, "you're very open to any gifts."

The last British man to win the championship at Wimbledon was
Fred Perry in 1936, and in recent times it's been Henman who, for
two weeks each year, has shouldered the burden of carrying a
nation's hopes.

"I played one of the few real specialists that is still left on
grass. So maybe he's not the Tim Henman he used to be, but still
he's a great player," the 25th-seeded Moya said. "He knows how to
play here."

Henman is 32, though, and ranked 74th, and lost in Wimbledon's
second round each of the past two years -- prompting speculation
around these parts about retirement. Andy Murray, a 20-year-old
currently in the Top 10, had seemingly taken on the role of local
favorite, but he withdrew on the eve of the tournament with a wrist
injury.

That left seven British men in the field -- and six lost in the
first round.

So once again it's Henman, all alone, with millions watching his
every move.

"It's a difficult one, the expectation, because everyone is
saying I should retire. But then they ask me how I should do, and
they expect me to get to the second week," Henman said, then broke
into a wide smile.

"But it's like, if you expect me to get to the second week, why
do you want me to retire? I'm trying to work that out."<

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^PISTOL PETE:@ Pete Sampras is in California, getting ready for
next month's Hall of Fame induction by working on his speech. He's
also keeping an eye on Wimbledon, where he won seven of his record
14 Grand Slam titles.

Like most, he figures Roger Federer will win a fifth consecutive
championship at the All England Club.

"On grass, it makes him that much better," Sampras said. "On
grass, he does what (Rafael) Nadal does on clay."

Sampras, who won Wimbledon from 1993-95 and 1997-00, called
Federer and Nadal "two legends in the making." Federer has 10
major titles -- four each at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, three at
the Australian Open -- and Nadal has three -- all at the French Open.

"Federer and Nadal are head and shoulders above," he said. "I
don't see them slowing down anytime soon."

And on the women's side?

"I see lots of names that end in 'ova," he said, laughing.
"The Williams sisters are doing pretty well, but other players
have caught up to them."

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^NO UGLY DUCKLING:@ Fabric frills fluttered about on Court 1 as
Maria Sharapova wore her "Swan Lake"-inspired dress during her
first-round victory at Wimbledon.

"Even on a hanger, it doesn't look as swan-ish as it does on
me," the 2004 champion said proudly after beating Chan Yung-jan of
Taiwan 6-1, 7-5 Tuesday.

The No. 2-seeded Sharapova found it tough to find an original
way to deal with the All England Club's all-white dress code.

"There's only so much you can do with white, and it's always
going to be traditional," she said. "You just think of creative
things and details you can add to a dress."

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AP Sports Writers Krystyna Rudzki in Wimbledon and Melissa
Murphy in New York contributed to this report.

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