Super Mario brushes away Henman

It has taken a 20-year old, big-serving Croat, Mario Ancic, this year, to end the eternal British hopes of seeing their beloved Tim Henman win the Wimbledon title.

Ancic grew from strength to strength to cruise past Henman in straight sets, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-2. With such an emphatic win over the Brit who actually looked pretty good in his last two matches, Ancic has entered the semi-finals with a bang.

Henman's loss in the quarter-finals also brings into focus his legendary inability to live upto the die-hard British hopes, year after year. Henman, an average player by any account, shoots into limelight every year when he manages to squeak through the first week, thus igniting hopes of the British fans who brave rain, cold and sun to stand patiently in queues outside the AELTC hoping to get an entry into the Center Court which hosts most of Henman's matches. And every year, without fail, Henman flatters to deceive as he almost invariably fails just before hitting the home stretch! The fans, however, ignore this trait every single time and keep on turning up for his matches in unprecedented numbers.

The atmosphere inside the Center Court during a Henman match is something to behold! Its absolutely electric... with every point that Henman wins being wildly cheered by his adoring fans. The collective oohs and aahs when he loses a point are almost farcical. Intermittent shouts of 'Come on Tim!!' resound through the court when he is winning points or losing them. His pumping fists drive his fans into raptures and when a Mexican wave starts going around the stadium, even the usually staid British royalty in the Royal Box join in. Its an experience worth waiting long hours in the queue for! I can vouch for that... after having experienced it first-hand this year.

Like strawberries 'n cream, Tim Henman and his futile attempts at going past the final couple of rounds have become somewhat of a Wimbledon tradition. And while the strawberries 'n cream at the AELTC are overrated piece of overpriced fruit, Tim Henman, at the AELTC, is an overrated specimen of underachievement.