Tim Henman announces his retirement...

... as I type. Considering the dearth of talent in British's men's tennis for the past 20-plus years, his career has been nothing short of a miracle. Five years inside the top 10, eight years inside the top 20, six Grand slam semi-finals (including his Indian summer season of 2003-4 when he reached the semis at Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows after winning his sole Masters tournament in Paris)... It's a proud record, and one that many Brits will overlook when describing him as the "nearly man" or the "bottler". If I'm honest, until 2003-4 I thought he was a good, but limited player, who seemed only capable of raising his game on grass for Wimbledon, but after his achievements in that year he should be seen as a very good - if not quite excellent - player. In fact, this BBC blog post sums up his career neatly, and puts it in its proper context.

Henman has intimated his desire to stay within tennis in some capacity - I hope he does so, and I hope he has a good coaching career. It wouldn't surprise me to see him nurture some real talent over the coming years, and it doesn't necessarily have to be British...