"I didn’t think it would work": Tim Henman recalls doubting young Rafael Nadal's playing style

Tim Henman remembered when he first met Rafael Nadal and trained with him while the Spaniard was still an up-and-coming prospect. The former world No. 4 admitted that he never thought Nadal’s playing style would be effective enough to deliver results on the ATP Tour.

The former British No. 1 believed Nadal’s game was risky and difficult to sustain over a long match. “I remember the first time I practised with Nadal, which was in Miami, and I’d never seen anyone hit the ball that hard, but every third shot was kind of in the back fence,” he said.

“I didn't really honestly believe that you could play like that because you would make mistakes and, you know, he didn't hit the ball as hard in matches as he did in practice,” Henman added. “But after I'd lost the practice set 6-1, I thought, well, maybe it will work.”

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Nadal made his Miami Open debut in 2004—presumably when he trained with Henman—and secured a stunning third-round victory over world No. 1 Roger Federer in their first-ever meeting. However, he later fell to Fernando González in the fourth round.

Henman, who enjoyed his best years on Tour between 1998 and 2004, spending most of that time in the top 10, witnessed the rise of not just Nadal but also Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. However, he never foresaw the unprecedented success that the Big-3 would achieve.

“I think if I were to wind the clock back to when I was first aware of each of them, I would have said, they're very good players, and can they win a Slam? Yeah, I think they could win a Slam. But beyond that, absolutely not,” Henman said. “I definitely would have, as we all would have done, thought these guys are potential Slam winners, but to win 66 between them is just difficult to comprehend.”

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“And I think when [Pete] Sampras was playing in my era, he got to 14, I would have bet my bottom dollar that no one was going to go past that. To see three of them do that is incredible.”

Federer retired in 2022 with 20 Grand Slam titles, followed by Nadal in 2024 with 22, while Djokovic—holding 24 major titles—continues chasing yet another trophy before the end of his career. According to Henman, Djokovic’s best chance lies at Wimbledon, where he has lost the last two finals to Carlos Alcaraz.

“He made the final last year on the back of knee surgery. And I think with his confidence and understanding of grass-court tennis and then perhaps fewer other players who are comfortable on grass,” Henman stated. “I think Wimbledon is his best shot to win a 25th.”

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