Henmania Grips All England Club in Fit of Optimism

If you read London’s newspapers, and there is hardly anything more amusing to do here than that, you would think Tim Henman’s advance to the Wimbledon semifinals had gripped not only the All England Club but all England.

He has aced Madonna and her “Drowned World Tour 2001,” which opened a six-night stand Wednesday night in Earls Court Arena, off the front pages.

Of course, if you are reporting from the grounds of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, it is difficult not to get caught up in the fever as Henman, who was born in Oxford, tries to become the first Englishman since Fred Perry in 1936 to win Wimbledon. No Englishman has even been in the final since 1938.

A standing-room-only crowd of more than 14,000 watches every one of Henman’s matches on Center Court, which isn’t all that unusual because Center Court is filled to capacity for most matches. What is unusual is that the crowds are reacting to his play with a fervor seldom seen at tennis matches. They are not like soccer or rugby crowds, but they are downright rowdy by tennis standards.

Then there are the 6,000 or so fans who gather on a hill outside Court One and watch Henman’s matches on a giant-screen television. Fueled by Pimm’s, champagne or anything else alcoholic and handy, they are rowdy by any standards. Talk about a drowned world.

This is all very entertaining, watching the great unwashed have the run of a somewhat stuffy club. You can imagine that the hired help will be trying to scrub the place clean for months.

The newspapers, meantime, are reporting on Henman’s match today against Goran Ivanisevic as if it were D-Day.

“Is Tim set to be our biggest sporting hero since 1966?” the Sun asks in a front-page headline, comparing his potential triumph to that of England’s last World Cup championship soccer team.

“Britain’s No. 1 is now just two matches from Wimbledon immortality,” says the Independent in a front-page headline.

Even the Times of London is breathless, although only on the front page of sports, with a headline saying, “Relentless Henman edges closer to date with destiny.”

Forget mad cow disease. England is swooning with Henmania.

Or not.

Outside the All England Club, life is proceeding normally. The Tories and Labor are feuding. A sensational murder trial is underway at the Old Bailey. One or more of the Spice Girls are doing something. Rain is forecast.

One of the popular morning television shows polled its viewers about whether a national holiday should be declared Monday if Henman wins.

“What would you do on a Tim Henman Day?” one dissenting caller asked.

“I would go fishing,” the host said.

When I turned off the television, those favoring a holiday were leading, but only by 51-49%.

Not even the country’s sports minister is too enthusiastic.

Richard Caborn came to Wimbledon the other day. But he didn’t stay for the conclusion of Henman’s fourth-round match against Todd Martin, saying that he didn’t have time. Questioned about the tournament, he said he has not been following the results but that his wife was keeping him informed.

“I’m not keen on tennis,” he said.

It seems he is not keen on any sport, other than soccer.

He was ridiculed throughout the nation upon his appointment last month when he was quizzed on a live BBC radio program about his knowledge of sports. He failed to answer one question correctly.

The Fourth of July came and went without fireworks except those provided by the Madonna concert, not that I expected the English, of all people, to place any special significance on the day.

But I did spend some time thinking about what it would be like if we in America had remained part of the British Empire. There would be some good things. We’d have crumpets, Harrods, Pimm’s, the BBC, more tabloids, a royal family.

One bad thing: We’d have a sports minister.

That’s just what we need, another level added to the federal bureaucracy for P.E.

But if we did have a sports minister, who would it be? Michael Jordan? No, he doesn’t like going to Washington. One of our out-of-work jocks-turned-politicians, such as Jack Kemp, Bill Bradley or Tom McMillen?

How about Bill Clinton? He’s keen on tennis. He went to the French Open this year, then showed up at the Belmont Stakes and a Laker-Philadelphia 76er playoff game at Philadelphia.

Or, I have a better idea.

Caborn, lamely defending his sorry showing on the radio program, said, “I want to be judged on how many more young people we have playing tennis in two years’ time, not on whether I can win a pub quiz.”

How noble.

I, on the other hand, believe a pub quiz would be a perfect way to choose a sports minister.

Let’s have a trivia contest. Call Regis. Who wants to be a sports minister?

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Randy Harvey can be reached at randy.harvey@latimes.com.

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Semifinals

Today’s men’s matches:

* Patrick Rafter (3), Australia, vs.

Andre Agassi (2)

* Tim Henman (6), Britain, vs. Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia

TV: Channel 4, noon; TNT, 5 p.m. (delayed)

Tracking Goran

Goran Ivanisevic’s ranking in his last 12 Wimbledon appearances, how he fared and who beat him. Ivanisevic is the first wild-card semifinalist in Wimbledon history:

Date Rank Round Lost

1990 38: Semifinals (Boris Becker)

1991 10: 2nd round (Nick Brown)

1992 8: Final (Andre Agassi)

1993 6: 3rd round (Todd Martin)

1994 5: Final (Pete Sampras)

1995 6: Semifinals (Sampras)

1996 7: Quarterfinals (J. Stoltenberg)

1997 3: 2nd round (Magnus Norman)

1998 23: Final (Sampras)

1999 15: 4th round (Martin)

2000 68: 1st round (Arnaud Clement)

2001 125: Semifinals (vs. Tim Henman)