Tennis: Wary Henman Faces Finn

Tim Henman knows he faces an early Wimbledon challenge in the form of his first-round opponent Jarkko Nieminen.

The British No1 will not underestimate the 23-year-old Finn, ranked 70th in the world. The left-hander defeated Andre Agassi in the first round at the French Open, although the injury that forced the former champion out of Wimbledon played a big part.

The Finn also reached the third round at the Australian Open in January before losing to Roger Federer. Nieminen is, however, not as comfortable on grass, with the third round in 2003 his best performance at Wimbledon.

Henman, seeded sixth, said: "There's no doubt that he can be very dangerous. His ranking isn't quite as high as it once was but he has weapons and if he uses them well he can cause problems for anybody."

However, sterner tests await. If all matches go in favour of the seeds, Henman would face the No9 seed Sébastien Grosjean in the fourth round.

Also in the bottom half of the draw is the No2 seed Andy Roddick, who would await should Henman make it to the last eight. Rafael Nadal, the French Open champion, seeded fourth and aged only 19, would be a potential semi-final opponent.

Andrew Murray, who practised yesterday with Spain's Tommy Robredo, will play George Bastl in the first round at Wimbledon, the Swiss having won his way through three rounds of qualifying.

Bastl will be best remembered for defeating Pete Sampras in the second round three years ago. It was also the last time Bastl, ranked No141, played in the Wimbledon singles. On the face of it, this is an eminently winnable match for the 18-year-old Murray, whose injured ankle has been responding well to treatment.

Argentina's Guillermo Canas, the seventh seed, pulled out yesterday, as did Holland's Sjeng Schalken. Canas's place in the draw goes to Belgium's Olivier Rochus.

Britain's Jamie Delgado, having battled his way through qualifying, faces Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former French Open champion, in the first round.

Richard Gasquet's increasing confidence on grass was evident as he progressed to the final of the 10tele.com Open in Nottingham yesterday. The French teenager was seldom troubled by Taylor Dent and faces Max Mirnyi in today's final which coincides with his 19th birthday.

Gasquet, seeded No27 at Wimbledon, will meet Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in the first round.