RELAXATION is not something that comes easily to Tim Henman. He has never been big on the concept of sitting still. He would rather be balancing a ball on the frame of his racket, perfecting his golf swing without a club in his hands or spinning any available pen or fork on his outstretched index finger.

But with the announcement of his retirement and a life away from the competitive grind he has known since childhood just a US Open and Davis Cup tie away, he headed for a chair under the shade of a sun umbrella and suddenly became a man totally at ease with his decision.

Maria Sharapova sauntered into view and offered a friendly wave. “Is that to me or you?” he asked, with the mocking sense of humour he has rarely allowed the British sporting public to appreciate before lounging back deeper into his chair and revealing the experience that finally convinced him that enough was enough.

It came almost four weeks ago in the oppressive heat and humidity of Washington DC as a 6ft 9in giant by the name of John Isner, ranked 416 in the world and more than 11 years Henman’s junior, powered his way to a first ATP Tour win since leaving the University of Georgia by pounding 18 aces past Henman, who took the title four years ago.

“My back was hurting again and I realised how much the game had changed in the time I’ve been playing,” the Englishman said. “When I began, there were maybe two players who stood taller than 6ft 6in and they were thought to be unusual. Then all of a sudden there was this huge guy at the other end of the court serving aces past me that were bouncing into the crowd.

“It’s the way the game is going. Everyone is so now athletic and powerful. I’m sure in a couple of years’ time we are going to have people playing who are 7ft tall. It will be interesting to see what happens, but I’m glad I won’t be there to face it.”

With a glorious sense of timing, the US Open draw provided Henman with one last punishment – a first-round confrontation against the powerhouse Russian Dmitry Tursunov, who has inflicted more anguish than most on the former British No 1, with five wins in six meetings going back barely two years. Tursunov ended Henman’s nine-year run of never failing to make the later stages of Wimbledon by inflicting a second-round exit in 2005. Hearing that he had again been paired with his Muscovite nemesis, Henman grinned. “I thought, ‘Somebody is trying to tell me to speed this retirement process up’.”

Retirement had been playing on his mind for more than a year. He had sought the opinions of some of the sport’s luminaries in an attempt to gauge when the time is right. At last year’s US Open he had long conversations with the soon-to-bow-out Andre Agassi. This year at Indian Wells he invited Pete Sampras to dinner to discuss the subject. “I also spoke to ex-players like Todd Martin and Alex Corretja and they all said much the same thing: ‘Jesus, it’s hard to know when the time is right, and nobody has written a book on it’.”

Sampras was more than ready to praise Henman after his announcement. “Tim has always been a gentlemen on and off the court,” said the seven-time Wimbledon champion, who twice beat Henman en route to titles at the semi-final stage. “As you get older, it becomes more difficult to bounce back from injuries. Regardless, the decision to retire is a difficult one, I know, with which Tim has struggled.” Of course, the fact that Henman and his wife Lucy next month await the arrival of their third child and Britain stage a September Davis Cup tie at his spiritual tennis home of Wimbledon’s All England Club were also factored into the decision. But he says, “Even earlier this year I wasn’t sure what to do when I went through the process of getting my arse kicked at the French Open by an 18-year-old boy. But when the time came, it actually seemed so black and white.

“I realised I don’t want to be going into the gym any more and doing all the core stability work, stretching and weightlifting. I don’t want to keep taking the antiinflammatory tablets I’ve been taking nonstop for the past three years. There was a big imbalance between the work I was putting in and the rewards I was getting out.”

So what does the future hold? Initially parenthood and domesticity will be paramount, while Henman intends to satisfy his competitive instincts by spending more time playing golf at Sunningdale in an attempt to get his handicap down to scratch.

Tennis rackets will be stored well away in the short term and it’s fair to assume the prospect of going back on the road to coach a younger player is abhorrent tight now, but at some stage, he will reemerge. “Tennis has not seen the last of me,” he insisted.