THE last time Tim Henman visited Gleneagles all he had in his possession was a smart suit, an overnight bag and an invite to Andy Murray's wedding. Not only will the former World No 4 and six-time Grand Slam semi-finalist be sure to bring his tennis racket when he returns to the luxury Perthshire retreat next month to take part in the Brodies Invitational legends event, the keen golfer has already made a mental note to remember his clubs.

That jaunt in June, which will also see Henman take on some talented Scottish juniors in the company of Judy Murray, is merely the first instalment of a two-part Tartan tour for the popular 41-year-old this summer. He will venture north in trepidation again in September to provide opposition for the Murray brothers on the doubles court in the inaugural 'Andy Murray Live' charity event at the SSE Hydro, an evening of tennis and entertainment which is promised to feature comedians and sundry other gimmicks. "It is probably best not to know what I'm letting myself in for!" he deadpans.

By then, of course, the tennis world could quite easily be spinning in an alternative direction. Andy Murray's schedule in the next few months, after all, is considerably more daunting than Henman's. Three Grand Slam titles will have been dished out, all beginning with Roland Garros this fortnight. There is the small matter of the Olympic tennis competition in Rio in August - Andy Murray is the reigning singles champion and will also fancy his chances with his brother Jamie in the doubles - not to mention an away Davis Cup tie, back on the clay, against Serbia in Belgrade. "He is busy but they are nice problems to have," said Henman. "The Olympics is a huge deal - particularly going in as defending champion."

The good news heading into Roland Garros is that Henman reckons Andy has never played better on clay than he has this month. The bad news is that, victory on clay against Novak Djokovic in the final of the Rome Masters last week not withstanding, he can still only be regarded for second favourite to be lifting his maiden French Open title in a fortnight's time. That major, of course, also just happens to be the one outstanding item on Djokovic's career 'to-do' list.

"For me this is the best I have seen Andy play on clay," Henman told Herald Sport. "He made big, big strides last year, winning in Munich then winning a Masters series in Madrid where he beat Nadal. But this year, the consistency and quality of his play has been even better, the best I have ever seen from him on the surface. He is more aggressive from the baseline, but still making very few unforced errors. His movement looks fantastic, which is a great sign, because clay is a surface which has aggravated his back more than most.

"He is serving aggressively and hitting a lot of big serves at the right time and all of those ingredients have come together with a couple of really big wins," Henman added. "To beat Djokovic in Rome in a final of a Masters event on clay is great for raising his confidence. Psychologically too, to have lost 12 out of 13 against him and then just beat him before Roland Garros is absolutely ideal.

"It will be tougher in a slam, obviously in best of five set matches, and Djokovic is obviously trying to win the one slam that he has never won. But Andy has been so consistent getting to the latter stages of the slams that he gives himself a great chance going into Roland Garros. Djokovic, though, still is the clear favourite for me, no doubt about it. You look at the world rankings and his consistency has been has been phenomenal but I would put Andy a close second, alongside [Rafa] Nadal and [Stan] Wawrinka."

While Henman wasn't schooled in Barcelona like Murray, he was 30 years of age when he reached his only French Open semi-final in 2004 and feels you have to pay your dues. "You kind of have to put the miles in and I didn't play a lot on clay growing up," he said. "You really have to embrace that challenge and that is exactly what Andy has done the last three or four years, he has just got better and better."

Henman attended Reed's School in Cobham, Surrey, alongside Jamie Delgado, the man who currently has lead coaching responsibilities in Murray's entourage so perhaps it is hardly a surprise that he isn't sold on the idea of a reunion with Ivan Lendl. "He [Delgado] is a very good person, who made it to 120 in the world so he has played the game to a good level," said Henman. "He has coached someone else on the tour [Gilles Muller] who has made great strides so I think he has a lot to offer. And you know, he is a really good friend of Andy's. They get on well and he lives in Wimbledon, which is great for the continuity of Andy's practice. He ticks a lot of boxes."