So he really is about to say his goodbyes. In six weeks’ time, the sport of lawn tennis in this country will no longer have Tim Henman to save it, inspire it, dictate it or, in narrow-minded corners, disappoint it. The tiger’s teeth have finally been pulled.

One can hear London’s taxi drivers as they devour this morning’s revelation — “Never won it, did he guv? Never quite ’ad it, let the country down, if you get me drift.”

If there is a blemish on a professional career that began in 1993 when he reached the quarter-final of a challenger tournament in Bristol — though those who saw him at Reed’s School, Cobham, Surrey, at the age of 10 suspected there was something special in this raw, skinny child — and proceeded to dominate the British landscape of the sport like no other in the past seven decades, it is that he did not, indeed, win “it”. But then again, neither did 98 per cent of his profession and, in these past, definitive 14 years, only five males became the Wimbledon champion, two of whom happen to be superheroes.

When he does shove the rackets into his Slazenger bag for the last time, you can be sure that Henman will be thinking exactly that, but more, he will expect that those whose judgment he respects — a small group — will do so in the knowledge that without him, British tennis will have been nothing. There was not a shred of hope when he came along — a win here and there was regarded as manna — and now, apart from a Scottish family with oceans of talent, improbably different personalities, delicate bodies and egos and who are thankful for a national association that gives them everything they desire, there is not too much to commend it at the level that draws the most attention.

Henman never asked for a penny from the LTA, nor did he receive one once he had reached the world’s top 100 and yet British tennis without him is like roast beef without horseradish, chips without salt and vinegar. The first required the second to have taste. Henman was the slight-shouldered man upon whom the sport relied to keep it vibrant, meaningful and alive, to show that to be a tennis player meant something, tennis was a sport worth playing, that you could succeed while never betraying your upbringing, family or code.

Before he appears in next week’s US Open and the Davis Cup tie against Croatia at Wimbledon on September 21, he will have won 494 matches and lost 272, won 11 titles – the most important of which was the 2003 BNP Paribas Masters Series event in Paris, when he defeated Sébastien Grosjean, Gustavo Kuerten, Roger Federer and Andy Roddick on consecutive days – reached the Wimbledon semi-finals on four occasions, made four further quarter-finals, and the semi-finals of the French and US Opens in 2004. His singles record in the Davis Cup was 38-14, though it will have to remain a bitter disappointment that he did not lead his country to victory in a world-group tie.

He had a style of play that is passé in the 21st century, built around an all-court attitude, a player who was not afraid to come to the net, indeed he possessed the best right hand of many who play today, a natural flair, an understanding of the game’s fluctuations and nuances, a genuine feel for what was required at the appropriate time, an appreciation of the court. What he did not have was one overwhelming stroke, his serve was never quite the weapon it needed to be, his forehand did have a tendency to leak points, and yet his craft and intelligence won him many matches he ought not to have won.

What he could not determine was how that game would stand up under the fiercest scrutiny and it was his misfortune at the most imperative moments at Wimbledon to come up against Pete Sampras when there was not a player to touch him, Lleyton Hewitt, the Australian against whose game he could never impose his own, a galvanised Goran Ivanisevic and, finally, Roger Federer, who may yet turn out to be the mightiest of the mighty.

Extraordinarily, the closest Henman came to winning a grand-slam tournament title was on the clay of Roland Garros three years ago when he had won matches in the first and fourth rounds from two sets to love down, and led Guillermo Coria, of Argentina, by a set and a break of serve in the semi-final, only to take a step back for the first time in the tournament, and give Coria a sniff of a chance he gleefully accepted. Step back to 1995, when Greg Rusedski appeared on the scene, courtesy of the LTA which was just as bereft of talent then but which saw this Canadian whose mother had been born in Britain as a saviour, and few believed Henman had it in him to make an impact. His response was defiant, as Billy Knight, the prescient head of men’s tennis, chose to pair him with David Felgate, a partnership that was to last for nine years, until Henman thought it had no more to offer.

He chose to work with Larry Stefanki, an ebullient Californian who tinkered with his game but could not completely turn the head of his player before, in 2003, he was paired with Paul Annacone, who had served Sampras wonderfully well.

In all these relationships, it was impossible to find anyone who had a bad word for him. Even when he accepted that, in press conferences, he would give the answer that helped him rather than one that was utterly truthful, there was no lingering malice.

We were thrilled to have Henman to write about, but, more than that, to watch. To see this man go about his business was to witness an athlete who would have prospered at any activity. He competed honourably and beautifully at the highest level. None could ask for more.

Trophy list

Tim Henman’s 11 titles

1997 Sydney (HC), Tashkent (HC)
1998 Tashkent (HC) Basel (IC)
2000 Vienna (IH), Brighton (IH)
2001 Copenhagen (IH) Basel (IC)
2002 Adelaide (HC), 2003 Washington (HC) Paris (IC)

HC: hard court IH: indoor hard IC: indoor carpet

Eight memorable victories in a career of ups and downs

2006 Miami, 2nd rd

Beat Lleyton Hewitt (Aus) 7-6, 6-3. A real moment to cherish for Henman, who had lost his eight previous matches to the Australian and wondered if he would ever beat the 2002 Wimbledon champion.

2004 Davis Cup world group qualifier

Beat Jürgen Melzer (Aut) 0-6, 6-2, 7-6, 6-2. The match that hastened Henman’s retirement from the Davis Cup, a decision he overturned this year, a bruising match on outdoor clay.

2004 US Open 1st rd

Beat Ivo Karlovic (Cro) 7-6, 6-7, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. A match that may be repeated in the Davis Cup tie next month. Henman held firm against a bombardment of big serving at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

2004 French Open, 4th rd

Beat Michael Llodra (Fra) 6-7, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 9-7. Henman had come back from two sets down in the first round and now he refused to give in, playing his finest match on clay.

2003 BNP Paribas Masters, Paris, SF

Beat Andy Roddick (USA) 7-6, 7-6. Having beaten Roger Federer in the quarter-finals, Henman returned the next day to snuff out the American in back-to-back tie-breaks.

2000 Davis Cup, World Group, 1st rd

Beat Slava Dosedel (Czech Rep) 6-7, 5-7, 6-1, 7-5, 6-3. The first rubber of the tie, on indoor clay in Ostrava. Henman battled back from two sets down – but Britain lost the tie 4-1.

1999 Wimbledon, 4th rd

Beat Jim Courier (USA) 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7, 9-7. An incredible match of ebb and flow and controversial line-calling as Henman saved two match points against the former world No 1.

1996 Wimbledon 1st rd

Beat Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Russ) 7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 4-6, 7-5. Henman’s debut on Centre Court against the French Open champion. He broke serve six times but needed 20 chances to do so, the first ride on the Henman rollercoaster.