Henman's Wimbledon seeding in jeopardy

Tim Henman's absence from the Monte Carlo Open is likely to register more deeply next Monday, when his points as a semi-finalist here last year are due to drop from the rankings, plunging the ailing British No 1 to around No 30 in the world. Henman, whose injured right shoulder was scanned yesterday, may struggle to be seeded at Wimbledon in June.

Even if Henman is fit to compete during the remainder of the clay-court season, his margin for error will be slim. The All England Club's agreement with the ATP Tour is to seed the top 32 men in the entry list. Whereas in the past a number of leading clay-court players have decided not to play on the Wimbledon lawns, the Argentinian David Nalbandian's unexpected advance to the final last year and the Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero's favourable impression in his two visits may persuade other slower court specialists to try their luck.

Greg Rusedski, the British No 2, can only hope to be a dangerous floater in the Wimbledon draw, presuming he recovers from operations to a foot and knee that have excluded him since the United States Open last September. Rusedski, currently ranked No 69 in the world, will decide tomorrow whether or not to participate in next week's tournament in Barcelona.

Traditionally, the Monte Carlo Open is the first signpost en route to the clay courts at the French Open in Paris towards the end of May. Monte Carlo is also one of the nine Masters Series events on the ATP Tour. None of that guarantees the full support of the leading players. Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi, the world's top two, chose to give the spectacular Mediterranean vista a miss, and three other top 10 players, Roger Federer, Marat Safin and Sebastien Grosjean, are injured.

It was confirmed by the ATP's European headquarters here yesterday that Hewitt intends suing the Tour after being fined $20,000 (£12,750) for refusing to give a pre-match television interview with ESPN at the Cincinnati tournament last August. Meanwhile, America's Andy Roddick, the third seed, was eliminated in the first round and French supporters said a quick adieu to two of their promising youngsters, Richard Gasquet and Paul-Henri Mathieu. Roddick was defeated 7-6, 6-3 by Albert Portas, a Spanish qualifier whose penchant for delicate shots, executed with varying degrees of success, earned him the nickname, 'Drop-shot Dragon'. Roddick, who lost the first set tie-break, 7-5, lamented "blowing it on a drop-shot that resembled more of a lob than a drop-shot."

Gasquet, who made his debut here last year as a 16-year-old qualifier, losing to Russia's Marat Safin in the second round, was overcome by those memories even before Nalbandian went to work on him yesterday. The Argentinian won 6-4, 6-0. "It was not a matter of tennis," Gasquet said, "it was rather a matter of emotions. I was very nervous."

Mathieu, who ended last year in tears after losing a two sets to love lead in the deciding match of France's Davis Cup final against Russia in Paris, was defeated yesterday by Luis Horna, of Peru, 6-4, 6-4.