Goran backs Tim to triumph

Goran Ivanisevic believes Tim Henman can still win Wimbledon despite his poor form this year. The British No1 has failed to reach the semi-finals in any of his 10 tournaments so far but Ivanisevic insists he one of the handful of players capable of lifting the trophy.

Henman admits he has not played well at Wimbledon since he lost to big serving Croat Ivanisevic in the semi finals in 2001 - his best chance so far of winning the title.

He starts his campaign to become the first home grown men's champion since Fred Perry against Finland's-Jarkko Nieminen tomorrow. But Ivanisevic insists Henman is one of the handful of players capable of winning the trophy over the next fortnight as Roger Federer attempts to win his third straight title.

Ivanisevic said: "For me, Tim Henman always has a chance to win Wimbledon. He has the perfect game for the grass - actually, for any surface, but especially for grass. He has the game to win. Maybe this year, maybe next year, who knows?

"He just has to believe and play well. The draw doesn't matter too much for him. I think he's capable of beating anybody there, even Roger.

"But he has huge pressure on him. Always when Wimbledon starts, 'Henmania' starts and everybody is waiting for him to do something. I thought he would win it last year but strange things happened against Mario Ancic. He was serving and volleying and didn't change anything.

This year it is going to be interesting seeing lots of players other than Tim playing a baseline game."

Hundreds of fans queued all night waiting for ground tickets to the tournament which begins today.