During a news conference after his first-round victory, Henman spoke forthrightly on the subject - which brought threats of direct action by women players.

The winner of the 1999 men's singles will walk off with a cheque for £455,000; the women's champion will receive £409,500.

With the ladies' game in the middle of a high-publicity renaissance, and new stars such as Anna Kournikova, Martina Hingis and Venus Williams commanding as many column inches as the top men, members of the women's tour were reported to be planning to raise the issue at Wimbledon.

Asked if he supported their arguments, Henman answered simply: "In a word, no.

"I think they should worry about getting their own tournaments at a bigger and better level and then worry about the grand slams.

"So I think then if they are still saying they want more in the grand slams, I think that's probably a bit greedy."

Wimbledon organisers are adamant the current system is fair, given the differing amounts of money the men's and women's games bring in.

But while no female players directly criticised Henman, and their governing body, the Women's Tennis Association, was playing down reports of protests, some made their position clear.

Number six seed Venus Williams said she was a "firm advocate" of equal money.

She said: "I think the ladies work equally as hard and give a good amount of effort also, and I definitely will work towards it with the tour. I definitely will."