British tennis fans shouldn’t be criticising Tim Henman today. They should be thanking him.

Yes he failed for the 13th time in a row to win Wimbledon, but at least he didn’t put us through the agony of nearly going all the way.

Traditionally we have tended to get excited as the only decent English tennis player of my generation progresses to the latter stages of the tournament. And traditionally we end up disappointed and dejected as he crashes one or two steps short of the prize.

Well, at least this year we don’t have to suffer the false hope. Round two was all he managed and now, at the ripe old tennis age of 30, his dreams of ever winning Wimbledon must surely be dashed.

But fear not, tennis fans, there is a rising star who might just be able to make the dream of a British winner come true – young Andrew Murray.

On Thursday the 18-year-old managed what Tim couldn’t by progressing to round three. And at the expense of one of the seeded player too as he served up some quite enthralling tennis.

As some commentators have put it, it was a bit like watching the changing of the guard as the old pro slipped quietly away while the young pretender smashed his way into week two.

You can’t help feel a tinge of sadness for Tim. He is, by all accounts, a very likable guy and would have been a worthy sporting hero. However, he remains the nearly man, the sport’s richest failure, a multi-millionaire despite never winning a grand slam.

For Murray this is the dawn of a new era and despite his protestations to the contrary, he already has the look of a lad who knows he can go all the way.

If only he wasn’t Scottish...

Premiership

At last. Something to get excited about for us sport-starved football fans.

Okay, fair enough, it’s only the fixtures, but at least it is a glimmer of joy among the harsh, bare football-less summer.

And, as is traditional, the old fixture computer has thrown up some pretty entertaining first day clashes – most notably the game which will see new boys Wigan host champions Chelsea.

Runners-up Arsenal will take on the new-look Newcastle that Graeme Souness is trying to build while last season’s third and fourth placed teams, Everton and Manchester United, clash at Goodison Park.

Elsewhere Stuart Pearce starts his first full season in charge at Manchester City with a home clash against West Brom while, of the other new kids on the block, Sunderland take on Charlton and West Ham play hosts to Blackburn.

But if that little lot wasn’t enough to get the pulses racing then you just have to look at weekend number two for a clash that should see a few tempers flare – Chelsea at home to Arsenal.

Fresh from the controversy of Cole-gate, there is no love lost between these two sides and that should make for an entertaining afternoon’s football. In another twist of fate, Chelsea’s next game will be against Spurs, the other team they have spent the summer annoying.

Yet despite all this, the match all us Premiership neutrals are really eager to watch comes on 2 January when Arsenal and Manchester United clash at Highbury.

If it’s half as good as last season’s game then it should be a real treat.

Having said that, any football would be a real treat right now. So bring it on!

Mika Salo

There’s nothing quite like hitting a sport while it is down. And former Formula 1 driver Mika Salo has managed to do just that this week by expressing fears over driver safety.

The Fin competed in 111 races during his grand prix career for a rather expansive seven different teams without winning a single one.

Now he has just revealed that during an operation doctors found a large amount of carbon-fibre dust in his lungs – in other words brake particles.

“There was really a lot of that dust in my lungs. If I have this much of it how much will Michael Schumacher, who has driven 10 years longer than me, have?” he said.

The sports governing body, the FIA, already reeling from the debacle of the USA grand prix, has said it will look into the case.

A spokesman said this was the first time carbon-fibre particles had been raised as a potential problem and there is currently no wider investigation into the subject.

Or, in other words: “I can’t believe you chose this time to bring this up. Please stop picking on us. We are having the week from hell.”

Of course there is a simple explanation for Salo’s non-life threatening condition. The very fact that he spent 111 races without registering a single win obviously meant he was spending rather a lot of time driving behind other cars.

So Michael Schumacher should be able to breath easy. Literally.

Contact James on: [email protected]