Classic Matches: Henman v Haarhuis

1997 - Men's Singles Third Round
T Henman (GB) bt P Haarhuis (Ned) 6-7 (7-9), 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 14-12

British tennis fans have become used to Tim Henman having a shou of becoming the first home-grown player to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.

But in 1997 it was a novelty but they saw some of the Brit's fighting qualities against Paul Haarhuis.

The match was played on 'Super Sunday,' the extra day added because of rain.

Haarhuis had a match point at 5-4 in the fifth set, but a double fault later the chance was gone and he went on to lose a marathon decider 14-12.

Many of the 14,000 fans had queued overnight to get in and were intent on enjoying themselves no matter what.

Henman said: "From the word go, it was something I'd never experienced before. The noise was at a different level. Every time I won a point it felt like the roof was going to come off."

And this titanic tussle proved perfect viewing.

When Haarhuis missed twice on his serve on match point in the 10th game of the fifth set the crowd showed their delight, although there were also a few frowns from those who insisted on etiquette.

The umpire went hoarse asking for quiet. Finally, at two minutes short of four hours, Henman served out for the victory.

"I've never played at Wembley. But I can say that's as good as good as it gets in tennis," he said.