IT was all too familiar. Tim Henman crashed out of Wimbledon on men’s quarter finals day.
Not that Tiger Tim was anywhere near a racket at the time.
A virus picked up in the BBC TV commentary box left him close to losing his voice.
Which is a bit of a problem if you’ve been hired to talk to millions of viewers.
Sue Barker, bless her, thought it was hilarious.
As did a disgusted John McEnroe, who gatecrashed the BBC studio during a rain delay while Tim was trying to explain all about his sore throat.
“What’s going on? C’mon, it’s commentating,” remonstrated Mac, who had kept Tim quiet for the best part of eight days.
“I just couldn’t believe it – sorry to interrupt.”

Once McEnroe was safely out of earshot, Tim croaked: “That’s the ironic thing, isn’t it?
“I haven’t been able to speak because he talks so much and now I’ve lost my voice.”
The hottest day of the Championships was followed by the worst…so far.
Where’s a roof when you need one?
Brollies which had been employed to shade their owners from the searing sun were finally used for their normal purpose, until the rain eventually relented after 4pm.
Former BBC Sport radio correspondent Tony Adamson has taken over the job of making the All England Club public announcements to the crowds.
He’s a big improvement on the chap they had a few years ago whose script and delivery were taken straight from the 1950s.
Perhaps in decades to come it’ll be boiled down to: “It’s stopped raining, innit.”
But, for now, there are still certain standards to uphold, with bulletins like: “As the rain appears to have abated for the moment, the plan is to deflate the covers and uncover the courts.”
Fortunately, the ever-cheerful Boris Becker had not lost his voice.
He remained upbeat despite the clouds, pointing out: “Wimbledon wouldn’t be Wimbledon without the rain.”
UK readers click here to see the Henman v McEnroe BBC TV clip.
*It looks like it could be another late night at Wimbledon.
With the sun now out, Federer is two sets to love up against Mario Ancic with the third set at two games all.
Next on when that’s finished is Murray v Nadal.
Wylie’s Wimbledon