The determined, jutted jaw and fist pump are being increasingly replaced by the wince and ginger stretch of the back. His body these days takes longer to recover. The work needed to stay in top condition is getting tougher.

In professional tennis terms, Tim Henman is in his twilight years.

Britain's best hope of men's singles Wimbledon [Images] glory for the past 69 years is still without a Grand Slam title to his name.

As he approaches his 31st birthday, his chances of finally winning the trophy his natural ability so richly deserves are fading fast.

Four times a losing semi-finalist at the All England [Images] Club, Henman has fallen at the quarter-final stage the last two years. Fears that this decline was terminal were erased last year by semi-final showings at the French and US Opens -- his best finishes at Grand Slams outside of Wimbledon by some margin.

However, Henman's form this year has been less impressive.

He has not won more than two matches at a tournament since March and he has failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals anywhere since his US Open [Images] run in September last year.

It is not the sort of form the serve-volleying Briton would hope for heading into Wimbledon next week.

VALUABLE LESSON

Still, though, Henman makes all the right noises.

"I think there is a valuable lesson," he said after losing to Swede Thomas Johansson in the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon warm-up at Queen's Club last week.

"I still see a grass court and a game I was brought up playing but it has changed and I've got to get that into my head. I have a tough time adapting but I will do it.

"It's something that I will definitely take on board and I will make damn sure that I do a better job of it at Wimbledon.

"I don't think there's any issues with the way I've been hitting the ball. I feel very happy in that department."

While Henman says he is hitting the ball well, the realisation that his best chances are behind him may affect his belief and hamper his chances. He freely admits he has not played well at Wimbledon since 2001.

"Upon reflection, I didn't really feel like I've played particularly well the last few years," he said. "But I feel much better about my game on the whole."

UNUSUAL THINGS

Three-times champion John McEnroe [Images] believes Henman's chances of becoming the first British men's champion since Fred Perry in 1936 are slim, but not impossible, and that he still has "that puncher's chance".

"You get the feeling his best chances may have gone but you also get the feeling that if you see some of the unusual things that have gone on the last few years it's conceivable that he could win...you can picture the right set of circumstances where a scenario could take place, where it's conceivable."

Henman's compatriot Greg Rusedski [Images] is geeing himself up for a major push at Wimbledon and media hype surrounds 18-year-old Scot Andrew Murray who won the US Open juniors last year.

A promising youngster, Murray has played only a handful of matches at senior level and cramped so badly against Johansson at Queen's that he collapsed twice on court.

Before the All England Club's 'Henman Hill' can become 'Murray Mound' the teenager must work on his fitness and build experience on the senior stage.

The youngster himself knows how much hard work is ahead and is refusing to get carried away.

"Top 10 is my goal," he said last week after pushing Henman's eventual conqueror Johansson to three tight sets. "And I think I've got a chance of doing it but it's going to take a long time and I'm going to have to work very hard until I get there."

For now Henman remains, once again, Britain's best hope for a Wimbledon champion, however faded that hope may be.

• Complete tennis coverage
• All you want to know about Sania Mirza