From Jimbo to Timbo, the Wizard of Gauze is now the man with the smelling salts

As ever around the time of Wimbledon, the nation has been anxious to know every facet of Tim Henman's progress, concerns and ailments. So Britain held its breath as a fair-haired chap in specs popped a capsule under Our Hero's nostrils on Centre Court the other day to help him feel a touch more robust. Henman won. Bill Norris had worked the magic again.

Norris is the leading, and longest-serving, physio on the men's tennis tour. Physio to the famous, you might say. The influence of the magic fingers has extended beyond the bounds of tennis courts to include Ronald Reagan (a bad back) and the late Princess Grace (elbow), and he even put in an appearance at Buckingham Palace when John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg played a charity match there.

What Norris wafted within breathing distance of Henman was ammonia. "I've been doing it for years," he smiled (he's always smiling). "People just don't realise it. There would have been no stir this time, either, had I done it to Xavier Malisse on Court Two. Those ammonia capsules really work, they will pull you out of a doldrum. But it was just nerves in Tim's case that day. I think he plays his best tennis outside England, I really do."

That comment highlights another facet of the Norris skills, massaging the minds of tennis players as well as their legs. "And I like doing that," he said. "It's all part of the package." The package is now in its 30th year on the tour, and the 59-year-old Norris is celebrating his 40th anniversary in the job. He began in baseball with the Milwaukee (now Atlanta) Braves, went on to the New York Mets, moved into basketball with the New York Knicks and joined the tennis tour in 1973, never having played the game.

Wimbledon is his favourite. "It's so nice here because it's like a big reunion. I love it, one generation after another. Today I was working on Stan Smith, one of the first guys I ever worked on when I started. And people like Stan still see me taking care of the front-liners, the headliners of the sport. I want to keep it up as long as I can, until they run my ass out of here."

Norris was born in Fort Myers, on the Gulf coast of Florida ("we call it the Redneck Riviera") and now lives on the Atlantic coast of the state in Boca Raton ("very prim and proper"). Since John Denver's death in an air crash, the comparisons with the famous singer have diminished, though the resemblance remains clear – mop of hair, rimless glasses, round face. Norris got so fed up of having to explain that he was not, in fact, John Denver that he just used to sign Denver's name when he was asked for autographs.

"In the old days I used to get a lot of free drinks and meals through that. Oh yeah, it used to be a big thing. And the players used to go along with it. One day Jimmy Connors went up to Denver and asked for help with an elbow problem. I met Denver one time and he told me 'They think I'm a tennis physio'. I said, 'No, you're the singer'. We had a lot of fun with that through the years, but I certainly don't look like John Denver any more, you know the state he's in."

Norris has also collected his share of nicknames down the years. One he particularly relishes is The Wizard of Gauze. Henman, he says, calls him Bangers and Mash. That one came about when Pete Sampras' trainer, Brett Stevens, started to call Norris Billy the Banger. "That's how Banger Billy started, and that's where Henners picked it up." Of all the former players, he nominates Bob Lutz as his favourite. "Bob was my drinking buddy, he was a lot of fun. Then he started getting religion and that was it. But I am going to try to get him out in the next few days to have a pint or two. A pint and a pie. But we'll keep the bangers on hold."

He is also an admirer of Connors. "Jimmy had that tenacity, he was a fighter, people just loved him. He was obnoxious sometimes, the way he acted, but you had to have a special place in your heart for Jimmy Connors." Norris especially savours the time when, at the age of 39, Connors blasted his way into the semi-finals of the US Open, draining himself along the way. "I remember the night we had to put a drip in Jimmy, he took about three litres of fluid, he was completely flat out. I have a lot of great souvenirs in my mind of those guys.

"In those days you had five or six of them. But it is such an open game now, you've got so many guys. Who would think David Nalbandian could get to the final here? That shows the strength in the game today, and that's special."

Norris has a place in his heart right now for the Dutchman and former champion Richard Krajicek, beaten in the quarter-finals on Thursday after 20 months out of tennis with elbow damage. "Richard is not yet tournament tough but he will be. He will build on his experience here, he has a lot of talent still. He is out of Wimbledon but he is happy. I patted his head and said, 'You've had a great two weeks'. He said, 'Yeah, but...' So I said, 'Stop right there and just look at the whole picture. You've done well'. That's what the players need, encouragement from somebody who is not being paid by them, somebody who's neutral." Somebody like the Wizard of Gauze.