2004 May 12 - Rusedski in Roland Garros main draw

Greg Rusedski has potentially been handed an easier route through the Roland Garros tournament following the withdrawal of American Mardy Fish with a hip injury. The upshot is that Greg will now take Mardy place in the main draw and so should avoid the bigger names until later in the tournament.

The downside is that Greg has never been prolific on clay and so if history is to repeat itself then the better draw may not make much of a difference anyway. Greg has played at Roland Garros on 8 occasions and the furthest he has reached is the quarter-finals in 1999 and more worryingly he has lost in the first round on 4 times including last year to the Russian Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets 3-6 5-7 2-6.

The British No.2 is sure to feel more at home at the Surbiton Trophy where he is scheduled to play in this pre-Wimbledon tournament from the 31st May.