By Stuart Hess
Year after year The All England Lawn Tennis Championships come around, and year after year the Brits ask themselves if this will be Tim Henman's time.
And while hope springs eternal in the British Isles, here in South Africa we have long ago given up the prospect of seeing one of our own clutching the ladies singles title or the equivalent for the gentlemen. After all, for more than a decade now our hopes have been placed firmly on the shoulders of Amanda Coetzer and Wayne Ferreira.
But for the odd flashes of brilliance - like Ferreira taking out Richard Krajicek in four sets on Centre Court two years ago - South African tennis fans have lived in hope, only to have it crushed by the reality that our two premier tennis players of the last two decades are probably well past their best.
This year appears to be no different.
Take that 2000 tournament, for example. Following that win over Krajicek - a champion at SW19 in 1996 - the draw opened up beautifully for Ferreira, to such an extent that three-time former champion John McEnroe famously remarked that the South African stood as good a chance as any of annexing tennis' most famous title.
However it was not to be. Ferreira was bundled out by an unknown Belrussian qualifier called Vladimir Voltchkov (what's he done since?), thereby quashing any hopes of his stopping Pete Sampras' march to the title.
This year Ferreira opens against one Albert Portas, a Spaniard and a lover of clay. Ferreira should be able to overcome him on grass. However, being the perennial under-achiever of men's tennis is a tag Ferreira has carried with him ever since making the semifinal of the Australian Open in 1992, so anything from a comfortable straight-sets win to a battling five-set loss is possible.
There are two other South Africans in the men's singles draw. Justin Bower came through the qualifying tournament at Roehampton last week to make it into the main draw and his prize is a match up with 31st seed Stefan Koubek of Austria.
In many respects it's not the worst draw for Bower, whose massive left-hand serve is a major weapon, especially on faster surfaces like grass. Koubek is more of a fighter who will run after everything. Bower, an explosive sort who wears his heart on his sleeve, will fancy his chances and should be aided by the fact that he has had a hard week of tennis at the qualifiers and will feel far more at ease with the surface than his opponent.
Neville Godwin, the third South African in the main draw, faces another Spaniard in ninth seed Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Like his compatriots, Ferrero and grass simply don't gel. However, he is undoubtedly one of the most talented players on the tour and will expect to overcome the plucky little South African, whose major claim to fame was a third-round win over Boris Becker on the old Court One in 1996 when the German had to retire with a broken right wrist.
Godwin is quick about the court - a major asset on grass - and is the kind of player who gets under the skin of opponents.
His grass court pedigree is exemplified by the fact that his only ATP title came on the grass of Newport last year, a title he will defend as soon as Wimbledon is completed.
Coetzer makes no bones about the fact that grass is not her favourite surface. She prefers playing from the back of the court and against today's plethora of big hitters, even her renowned quickness is not going to aid her on the green stuff.
Her first round opponent is little- known Zsofia Gubacsi of Hungary, just the kind of player Coetzer has made a habit of losing to at Grand Slam events recently. Should she make it through her first two matches, Coetzer faces the prospect of a likely encounter with one Venus. Williams, top seed, defending champion and favourite to annex the 2002 title.
All in all, very little to suggest a South African will be around for the second weekend at SW19.