Tim Henman on Roger Federer’s pain and Wimbledon 2020 merchandise

Kevin Palmer
Roger Federer Wimbledon

Former British No 1 Tim Henman believes Roger Federer could be the biggest loser following the cancellation of this year’s Wimbledon Championship, with the eight-time champion at the All England Club set to be closing in on his 40th birthday by the time he stands on Wimbledon’s Centre Court next summer.

Federer will toast his 39th birthday in August and with Wimbledon called off due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Swiss grass-court king faces a long wait for another crack at his most successful Grand Slam event.

EXCLUSIVE: Tim Henman on cancelling Wimbledon and what happens next for tennis

Federer lost out to Novak Djokovic in a gripping Wimbledon final last July after he beat his great rival Rafael Nadal in the semi-final, with Henman suggesting the elder statesman of the sport’s Big Three will lament the absence of Wimbledon in this year’s tennis diary.

“In the context of Federer being the oldest by some way, Wimbledon is now 15 months away once again and at this stage of his career, that is a very long way. There will be no-one more disappointed than him that this Wimbledon has been cancelled,” said Henman.

“When you are 38 and will be 39 later this year, it is a long period of time to wait for your favourite tournament. He will be keen to get back out there.

“Normally, when there is a catastrophe, it is a disaster that affects a country or a region if it is an earthquake, a flood or a famine. This has shut down the whole world, so whether you are a tennis player or whatever job you have, it will have a significant impact on you.”

Tim Henman podcast - Changing Room Chat

Meanwhile, All England Club committee member Henman has revealed that branded merchandise for Wimbledon 2020 will be available even though the tournament is not going ahead.

“There are towels available for Wimbledon 2020,” he added. “I was speaking to the commercial director and obviously they have got tens of thousands of towels and they are confident that they are going to sell like hot cakes because it is the 2020 Championships that never happened.

“The balls will all be branded up with 2020 on them as well, so we will see what we can do with them. There is a lot of organising to be done on what we can do next and a lot of positive work that will go on from here.”

Listen to the full ‘Tim Henman Changing Room Chat’ in association with Henman Communications here – https://www.henmancom.com/index.php/changing-room-chat/

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