British tennis player Tim Henman says he's retiring from Davis Cup play to concentrate on winning his first Grand Slam tournament.
The 30-year-old Henman has won 11 singles titles since turning pro in 1993, but has never reached a Grand Slam final. He's currently ranked seventh in the world and is in Melbourne preparing for the Australian Open which starts Monday.
Henman's record in Davis Cup play is 36 wins against 14 losses. He played in last September's 3-2 loss to Austria in a World Group playoff. Britain was thus relegated to zonal play for 2005 and can't rejoin the World Group until 2006 at the earliest. To have a chance, Britain must beat Israel in March in the second round of the Euro/Africa Zone.
British Davis Cup captain Jeremy Bates said Henman's "magnificent record speaks for itself" and while his loss will be great, he completely understands and respects his decision to retire from Davis Cup play.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.