TENNIS/Wimbledon draw: Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Tim Henman has a ready-made excuse this year. The British tennis institution, if he can beat Sweden's Robin Soderling in his first-round Wimbledon trial, will get a crack at Roger Federer, who is attempting to win the title for the fourth successive time.

It's a draw that could propel the Englishman into a frenzy of heaped expectation if he can beat the top seed, or an honourable exit if he does not. Either way, if Henman gets there his second-round match could not be more difficult.

Doubtlessly Federer is not looking that far ahead as the young French claycourt specialist Richard Gasquet has tuned up as his partner for the traditional opening Centre Court waltz. The 20-year-old, who made it to the fourth round last year, was once as high as 12 in the world but slipped down to 66 in the rankings.

Currently holding three of the four Grand Slam titles, Federer will set a new record of 42 consecutive grasscourt victories if he wins Monday's match, beating Bjorn Borg's mark of 41 wins.

The number two seed and French Open champion, Rafael Nadal, gets a first-round crack at a local and for that should be well pleased. The Spanish 20-year-old faces Alex Bogdanovic, who is in the draw at the invitation of the committee. Nadal could face Andre Agassi in the third round as the American continues his rumoured farewell lap of the Grand Slams. Federer's run isn't all that heavily mined with Lleyton Hewitt and top American seed Andy Roddick both on the other side of the draw.

The women's singles event provides Venus Williams with a familiar catwalk. The title holder will expect to meet the world number one Amelie Mauresmo in the third round once she negotiates the unsteady path of the first week. The champion opens against fellow American, Bethanie Mattek.

Williams' 2000, 2001 and 2005 titles and twice runner-up places is heavy-duty experience and although seeded six to Mauresmo's one, it is the French woman who may fret. Mauresmo, having lost in the first round last week, has been no further than three semi-finals in London.

Of the three players who have won Grand Slams since Wimbledon last year, Belgium's Kim Clijsters will have wondered what it was she did to upset the gods of chance. Her start against Russia's Vera Znonareva must rank as the most difficult. The 47th-ranked Zvonareva underlined her grass form by winning at Birmingham last week.

Get over that hurdle and Clijsters could meet another Russian at the quarter-final stage, the seventh-seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, who finished runner-up to Justin Henin-Hardenne at Roland Garros two weeks ago.

The semi-final line-up is seeded to have Mauresmo against 2004 champion Maria Sharapova and Henin-Hardenne against Clijsters. What chance of that materialising with Williams, former world number one Martina Hingis and the young Czech 17-year-old, Nicole Vaidisova, lurking in the wings?