London, Dec 09: Tim Henman's new coach Paul Annacone believes the British number one has what it takes to win Wimbledon.
Annacone, who coached seven-time Wimbledon champion Peter Sampras, will work with Henman part-time as he works towards the elusive All England crown.
"I absolutely think Tim can win Wimbledon, I've thought so for many years," Annacone told reporters. "If you can volley, move and play on grass like Tim does there is no reason why he can't win Wimbledon."
Annacone added: "I think he will win whether it is this year, next year or the year after.
"But if he doesn't, as long as he has done all the right things leading in, preparing, to me that is a win-win situation.



"If he keeps working towards it in a certain way then I believe he can give himself the best chance to hold that trophy up."



Henman has reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon for three of the last five years - this year he went out in the quarter-finals at the hands of Frenchman Sebastian Grosjean.



The British number one has to cope with the weight of public expectation each time the tournament at the All England club rolls around and, at 29, time is not on his side. But Annacone is confident that he can use the lessons learnt from his seven-year spell with Sampras to guide Henman to success.



"I think I can help Tim with that and I know him pretty well as a person so I think it's a pretty good match," said Annacone. "I've seen success for a long time. I'm a student of the game and have tried to soak up as much information as I can.



"A great player like Pete (Sampras) does so many things so well there are lots of little things that I have stored away to try and improve Tim's game.



"One of the things we've already discussed on the telephone is his ability to have faith in a plan to build his game strategically.



"If he is playing the right way we can make sure he walks off the court knowing if he has won or lost on his terms. "


Bureau Report