Tim Henman reveals the one moment Pete Sampras got in his head at Wimbledon

EXCLUSIVE: Tim Henman let Pete Sampras get under his skin right before they played at Wimbledon in 1998.

The pair of tennis legends shared an intense rivalry with the athletes, delivering many a fantastic match for the fans.

Tim Henman says hearing Pete Sampras serve got in his head

After making the final four at Wimbledon for the first ever time, Tim Henman oozed self-belief, with the Englishman convinced he had what it took to overcome Pete Sampras.

However, right before the icons went toe-to-toe, Henman could hear the American serving at a ferocious pace, which left him feeling somewhat anxious.

In an exclusive interview with Sporf, Henman explained: “In 1998, in my first semi-final, I’d practised with him a lot in the months of tour leading up to that, and he was always very relaxed and nonchalant. I reckon if we’d have played ten practice sets, I’d have won eight of them. So, I came into that feeling very confident. But to see the way he was serving in match conditions, there were definitely a few extra gears. It was a tight match; we were one set all, and I ended up losing the third set 7-5, and he won in four sets. There were no doubts that he was the better player.”

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Tim Henman is blown away by Vodafone’s 5G+ Serve Monster

Ahead of this year’s Wimbledon, Censuswide conducted research that revealed a third of Brits believe they could return a serve in the competition. And of course, Henman thinks that’s incredibly optimistic.

He chuckled: “I love their confidence that they think they could return a Wimbledon serve. But I think it would be a lot closer to 10%.”

To put the theory to the test, fans attending Wimbledon were welcome to take on a daunting challenge, in the form of a robot that can replicate serves from an array of tennis superstars.

Henman enthused: “We’re here with the Vodafone’s 5G+ Serve Monster. It’s so impressive with the way it can fire down serves. We’ve only seen it at 80MPH, but I’ve been told it can go to 150MPH, which is pretty rapid. It’s amazing the way it can move, and its position. It has mechanisms for putting different spins on. The technology is amazing. They think they could do a serve at 200MPH, but they’re slightly concerned that the ball would break.”

Tim Henman joined Vodafone, Official Connectivity Partner of The Championships, Wimbledon, on day two of the tournament to try out its 5G+ Serve experience. Powered by Vodafone’s 5G+, it recreates live serves from Centre Court, bringing fans closer to the action. Click here for more.

Featured Image Credit: Vodafone/Getty