Correctness has habitually been the Tim Henman way; always predominantly white in his choice of playing attire and conservative with a small “c” in the way he has conducted himself. Very fittingly then, the career of the man lauded as the finest British male tennis player since Fred Perry came to a close in the proper way.

As his final legacy, Henman leaves British tennis a place in the Davis Cup’s elite world group; as his last competitive stroke he unfurled the most precise and deft forehands that angled across the court and flew away unplayable. And before walking off Wimbledon’s No 1 court into retirement with his four year-old daughter Rosie cradled in his arms, he gave a timely reminder of a talent not always fully appreciated by the nation’s sporting perception but one that will be impossible to replace in the difficult years that are to come.

Unquestionably there will be trepidation in captain John Lloyd’s mind on Thursday as he attends the draw for the World Group and awaits the name of Britain’s February opponents. The prospect of a trip away to the United States, Argentina or Spain without both Henman and Greg Rusedski who retired in April, is distinctly arduous, and will put a huge amount of pressure on the shoulders of Andy Murray.

Whether Britain would be celebrating victory after two days of this tie had Croatia been able to call on their three leading players Ivo Ljubicic, Mario Ancic and Ivo Karlovic instead of the mix and match lineup is open to debate. But the record books will record a victory that sends John Lloyd’s team into the 16-team premiership of world tennis; Henman and Jamie Murray’s four set win clinching a win that makes today’s final day an unfortunate irrelevance.

The fact that 11,000 tickets have been sold at a cost between £20 and £40, and another capacity-filling horde of Henman followers will want to say their just farewells is a problem not lost on the Lawn Tennis Association, whose officials have been debating the dilemma ever since the 33 year-old completed day one with an emotional straight sets win over Roko Karanusic to follow on from Andy Murray’s opening five set triumph.

Memories of a tumultuous welcome as he walked on court, louder than he has ever experienced even in reaching four semi-finals at Wimbledon’s Championships, and a ringing ovation that continued long after he left the court will remain with Henman for a long time. However he is adamant his playing days are over. “From my point of view the job is now done,” he insisted. “To finish it off in the way we did was perfect and from a purely selfish point of view to play a dead rubber after all that excitement and emotion just does not appeal.” Henman guaranteed he will be courtside today although he added that dark glasses and a sachet of paracetamol might be close to hand as a night of celebrations were planned. “That’s it,” he reiterated. “I’ve been involved in the Davis Cup for a long time, although there was a bit of break, and it does not get any better than winning 3-0 in two days with a place in the World Group secured.”

The long-time British No 1 has already done his bit for the win. While the younger Murray, who stood aside from the doubles to let the senior man play an active role in actually clinching promotion, was too anxious to remain courtside and watch, his elder brother seemed equally beset by nerves and for the opening set and a half of the 4-6 6-4 7-6 7-5 win was unable to produce the form that has established him as one of the game’s leading doubles players Almost taking on the role of on-court coach and captain as well as competitor, Henman talked his 21-year-old ally through almost every point and finally established a calm that realised a supremacy. Cilic and Zovko might have been thrown together as a makeshift duo when Ljubicic was diagnosed as suffering from kidney stones and a urinary tract infection but they are no strangers to one another having reached the semi-finals of the Umag tourmament in their homeland just eight weeks ago.

Henman and Murray on the other hand had only teamed up previously on the practice court and for a while it showed. But a change of tactics, throwing caution to the wind and repeatedly using the “I” formation, with Henman crouching down near the net as Murray served, began to pay dividends. The Croats identified Murray’s double fisted backhand as the British weakness in the early exchanges and his volleying lacked the crispness of a top flight performer. However Henman’s constant cajoling and encouragement, allied to some inspired play from the more experienced man, saw the Anglo-Scottish duo haul themselves into a commanding position.

Zovko, a partner of British player Jamie Delgado in a couple of tournaments earlier this year and primarily a competitor on the second tier Challenger circuit, was identified as the weaker Croatian link with 18 year-old Cilic acquitting himself as a player of distinct potential. More than one the British pair drilled the ball aggressively into Zovko’s body and the third set tie-break saw Henman plunder the unfortunate player from Zagreb from the outset.

An element of tension prevailed in the fourth although victory did not honestly seem in doubt but in many ways there was not quite the emotion of 24 hours previously. This time there was no kissing of the turf and Henman’s voice never once showed any sign of faltering as he was quizzed about his feelings. “I got a telephone call from Roger Federer just before the tie and he told me about the pitfalls of get choked up during a Sue Barker interview,” he joked.

Even his father Tony, whose habitual stiff upper lip countenance seemed tested to the limit by Friday’s scenes, seemed totally in control and it was left to British captain John Lloyd to put his key players’ career into perspective. “Quite simply he is irreplaceable. His 100% commitment has rubbed off on so many people and basically he is a tremendous role model. We need the next generation to have the same commitment as Tim and unfortunately some of our younger players don’t quite yet realise what it takes.”

Lloyd must quickly come to terms with life and new generation. In the Murray brothers Britain can look to the future but another adequate singles performer is also necessary if World Group defeat in February is to be avoided. Perhaps today’s dead rubbers might provide something of an answer.