TIGER Tim may have crashed out of Wimbledon but hi-tech help could be on hand for the tennis champions of tomorrow.

A new computer programme could save budding Henmans from humiliating defeats and give them the competitive edge.

The state of the art project, funded by a Swindon-based science body, is set to transform the way players study their opponents.

Once completed, it will allow players' movements on court to be tracked and recorded.

Their tactics and styles of play will then be used to create computerised representations of tennis stars.

So a virtual Roger Federer would be programmed to go on the attack, covering every inch of the court.

A computer-generated Serena Williams would be strong from the baseline and quick to the net.

And the Tim Henman model would presumably be designed to start brilliantly before throwing away a succession of important points and going home empty handed.

Players and coaches spend a lot of time analysing the advantages and drawbacks of alternative positions, formations and player movements.

The new system would allow them to explore the best tactics to outwit and outmanoeuvre over their opponent.

And instead of spending hours trawling through acres of video footage they would be able to access a computer-generated representation of their opponent at the touch of the button.

Since the research into the new technology is expected to take at least three years, it might be too late for 28-year-old Henman.

But the government body funding the project, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, hopes it might be the making of a new generation of homegrown tennis aces.

It has given £83,000 to computer scientists at Kingston University to carry out the research, which will start by focusing on tennis singles and doubles before looking at more complex sports such as football and basketball.

Dr Ahmed Shihab, who is leading the project, said: "As well as helping specialised sports training, the technology we are developing could have benefits in fields such as realistic computer gaming, virtual reality and surveillance, which also involve co-ordinated human activity."

The Council, based at Polaris House in North Star Avenue, invests more than £400m a year in research to improve public health, personal well-being and lifestyles.

Kevin Shoesmith