Rusedski out of French Open with neck injury

Greg Rusedski has been forced to pull out of next week's French Open with a neck injury. The British No 2 has already missed two clay-court tournaments this season because of a muscular problem in the neck, pulling out of the events in Hamburg and Monte Carlo.

Rusedski will continue to receive treatment for the injury in London and concentrate on his preparations for the grass-court season.

Rusedski plans to play in the Stella Artois Championships at Queen's Club from 10 to 16 June, with a week off before Wimbledon, which begins at the All England Club from 24 June.

Rusedski, who won the Heineken Open in Auckland in January this year, pulled out of the British team for this week's World Team Championships in Düsseldorf. Martin Lee partnered Tim Henman instead.

Rusedski, 28, has played only one match on clay this season, losing in the first round in Rome to the Italian Stefano Galvani earlier this month. Injuries have handicapped the left-hander's career. In 1999 he suffered a foot injury that required surgery to remove a cyst, which forced him to miss the first month of the 2000 season.

Another injury saw him withdraw during Britain's Davis Cup tie with Ecuador at Wimbledon later in the year after losing the opening rubber to Nicolas Lapentti, two years after he had retired in the first round at the All England Club with an ankle problem.

Tim Henman kept his nerve in a first-set tie-break and then strolled to victory over Nicolas Kiefer as Britain claimed a 1-0 lead over Germany in their World Team Cup tie in Düsseldorf. With the French Open less than a week away, Henman gave himself a confidence boost by winning 7-6, 6-3. It was his third successive victory against Kiefer, and his fifth in eight career meetings.

Martin Lee could not match Henman's performance, however, and was defeated 6-3, 6-3 by Lars Burgsmuller. After losing the opening set, Lee had a chance to control the second as he took a swift break. But from 2-0 up, he lost the next five games. Though he managed to break serve to reduce the deficit, Burgsmuller broke again to level the tie at one match apiece.

Marat Safin beat Alex Corretja 6-4, 6-4 to give Russia a 1-0 lead against Spain in a match between two players expected to do well at the French Open.