Henman ready to serve out his notice

He is set to bow out after attempting to steer Great Britain to a place in the prestigious Davis Cup World Group in a play-off against Croatia next month.

Henman's last two years on the circuit have been bedevilled by injury, most notably a back problem that has flared up again on the North American hard-court circuit and threatens to undermine what will be his final US Open, starting next Monday in New York.

Henman now accepts that he is playing his final year of competitive professional tennis and that his back will not improve, according to a report in today's Times newspaper.

The 32-year-old, four times a Wimbledon semi-finalist, reached a career-high World ranking of No4 but has plummeted down the lists as his back injury consigned him to a run of first-round defeats.

Henman could still surprise his critics by walking out for one final Wimbledon Championships in 2008 but it is more likely that the Davis Cup tie on Court One will be his swansong on the grass that made his name.

Henman, who turns 33 during the US Open, has stopped playing golf, his other sporting passion, to protect his back - which requires a sustained period of rehabilitation before and after every tournament.

They were signs that Henman has this year found a regime to stabilise the problem and he even ventured onto the golf course, playing to his single handicap.

The North America hard court circuit is normally one of his most competitive times of the year but he has crashed out on successive first rounds and now looks a shadow of the player who reached the US Open semi-finals in 2004.

If Henman does quit the sport as a player, he will almost certainly take over from John Lloyd as Davis Cup captain and has made it clear he wants to put something back into the sport that has made him a multi-millionaire.

With wife Lucy due to give birth to their third child shortly, Henman will be able to devote more time to his family.