Now into the fourth day of Wimbledon and the winner is undoubtedly the rain. It is not so unusual for this to happen, and as in previous cases, there is no cause for concern yet. The tournament will be completed on schedule.

The highlight so far has undoubtedly to be the epic victory by Tim Henman, the home favourite, over Carlos Moya, in a fifth set which went to 15-13.

In well over half a century of British tennis, Henman has come closest to winning the elusive men's singles title by reaching the semi-finals. But when he did so, both Goran Ivanisevic and the rain got the better of him and alas there was no British finalist yet again.

'He has brought the British public thrills and heartbreak with his increasingly rare style of play which, like himself, is so typically British'


This year too, it is safe to say that Henman will not win the title or even come close -- that appears pretty much in the safe clutches of Roger Federer.

But to say that Henman is over the hill is a little too presumptuous when talking of a man who has carried the hopes and aspirations of the great British sporting public for so many years. He has brought them thrills and heartbreak with his increasingly rare style of play which, like himself, is so typically British.

The serve-and-volley style which fewer and fewer players appear to rely on as their staple these days is a delight for all tennis connoisseurs -- at least it should be -- but on grass it is an essential ingredient without which, in the men's game at least, it is all but impossible to succeed.

Henman is a stylish exponent of serve-volley. To those who prefer to stay back and belt the ball from the baseline it may appear to be far less strenuous, but it requires just as much effort.

You need to be able to hit a well-placed serve and reasonable speed -- but not too fast -- and throw your opponent out of range of your next shot, a first volley executed by stealthily moving in for the kill.

Others may thing differently. This, for me is the ultimate exposition of high-quality tennis. It was what John McEnroe did so well and has been emulated only by a small number of other players since his day.

Henman will be out there again today trying to make it to the third round and the fans will park their bums on the wet grass slope outside Court One to watch the giant screen. They will cheer for every point he wins and will hope that the turf they are sitting on, which since his rise to fame has become known as Henman Hill, remains known so for just a little longer.

The young Scot Andy Murray wants to be the next man to garner the support of the crowds, and he would dearly love that patch to be known as Murrayfield. But it is not going to happen just yet.

Today, like thousands of others, I am cheering for Tim. It is not only because he is a Brit (so many others do not deserve the applause) but because he is such a great advertisement for the game of tennis and a role model for all-comers.