Tuesday Preview: Henman, Hewitt in Action

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By Barry Newcombe

Richard Gasquet v Janko Tipsarevic: Gasquet leads 1-0
Richard Gasquet has been playing tennis since he was four so he will have had 15 years of differing experiences when he reaches his 19th birthday on June 18. He had an outstanding career at junior level and was world junior champion in 2002. He took another significant step this year when he defeated the world No 1 Roger Federer in the quarter finals of the Monte Carlo Masters. That is one of the reasons why Gasquet is seeded tenth for the Stella Artois tournament in which he is competing for the third time. His opponent Janko Tipsarevic from Serbia and Montenegro, is now in his fourth year as a professional and approaching his 21st birthday in the first week of Wimbledon. Gasquet and Tipsarevic, who is ranked 96th in the world, have one previous meeting, at challenger level, in Sarajevo in 2003 when Gasquet was the winner. Last month Gasquet reached the third round of the French Open where he was defeated by the eventual champion Rafael Nadal.

Verdict: Gasquet ready to advance

Lleyton Hewitt v Xavier Malisse: Hewitt leads 3-1
Lleyton Hewitt is top seed for the Stella Artois title which he has won three times already between 2000 and 2002. He started the championships yesterday with a three set first round doubles match which gave him some valuable competition on grass in his first tournament since March when a rib injury kept him off court. Hewitt knows the demands here all too well and his opponent today, the Belgian Xavier Malisse, was one of the players he beat on the way to the 2001 title. Malisse has since underlined his prowess on grass by reaching the quarter finals at the Stella Artois in 2003 and the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2002. These two men last played in the French Open last year and there is no question that they know each other's games well.

Verdict: Hewitt to continue to hold an edge

Tim Henman v Robbie Ginepri: Henman leads 1-0
Tim Henman has played an impressive part at the Stella Artois since he first competed in 1994 and begins his 12th attempt to win the title ready to start up on grass and erase the recent memory of a second round defeat in the French Open. Henman has three times been runner-up in the Stella Artois and during one of those campaigns, in 2002, beat the American Ginepri, his opponent today, by 6-1 6-2. Since then Ginepri has improved his record at Grand Slam level with a fourth round best at Wimbledon last year. Ginepri describes the defeat to Henman in 2002 as a "routine win" and fully expects Henman to have considerable crowd support once again. But he says:"That will fire me up a little bit. But he is pretty tough on grass. "

Verdict: Henman to benefit from a familiar setting

Sebastien Grosjean v Guillermo Garcia-Lopez: First Meeting
It has taken a player as formidable as Andy Roddick to end the interest of Grosjean in the Stella Artois in the past two years and each time that was in the final, an indication of the impact Gorsjean has made on the tournament. Clearly the Frenchman enjoys playing on grass here and settling into London to prepare his challenge at Wimbledon where he has been a semi-finalist for the past two years. This year, in Grand Slam play, Grosjean won a match in the Australian and two matches in the French Open so he will be looking for a run of form on grass. Garcia-Lopez, just 22, has been on the road as a professional for four years and ranks 81st in the world.

Verdict: Grosjean to pick up the winning rhythm

Mark Philippoussis v Raemon Sluiter: Philippoussis leads 2-0
Some good things happened to Philippoussis on the first day of the Stella Artois championships yesterday. He has had a few problems with injuries this year, which has restricted his playing activity, but at least he came through a doubles match satisfactorily yesterday to start the week at Queen's Club. He is a wild card entry into the Stella Artois, which he won in 1997, and has also gained a wild card into the Wimbledon Championships where he was runner-up two years ago. The two wins which Philippoussis had over his Dutch opponent, Sluiter, were in the Australian Open in 2000 and at Hamburg in 2003. Sluiter knows his way around on grass after being a semi-finalist here three years ago.

Verdict: Good to see Philippoussis on court but Sluiter will have no room for sentiment

Gregory Carraz v Radek Stepanek: Carraz leads 1-0
Carraz, a qualifier from France, already has a victory under his belt when Sargis Sargsian retired at 3-0 down in the first set of their opening match. Now Carraz heads into the second round against the fourth seeded Czech, Stepanek. Carraz has ended the past two years inside the top 100 in the world and has twice been into the second round at Wimbledon. Carraz also won his only previous meeting with Stepanek when he took a third set tie break in Paris two years ago. Stepanek can produce a very influential service game as he proved when he reached the quarter finals here last year and in twice reaching the third round at Wimbledon.

Verdict: Stepanek to show why he is ranked 16th in the world

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