Henman handed nightmare draw

Henman is looking for a solid start to his clay season

British number one Tim Henman will have to be at his very best if he is to start his clay court season with a win.

The fourth seed has been drawn against Argentinean Guillermo Coria in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters Series event, which begins on Monday.

Coria, a semi-finalist at the tournament last year, has just returned to the tour after serving a seven-month suspension for a positive drugs test.

The 20-year-old was ranked 30th at the time of his suspension and is regarded as one of the most promising young players on the tour.

Argentinean Coria was brought up on clay

Henman, whose least favourite surface is clay, has not played since he was foced to retire from his quarter-final match at the Nasdaq-100 Open with a neck injury.

The 27-year-old is currently at fifth in the world rankings but will have to put in a solid clay court campaign if he is to remain in the top five.

The Briton is one of a number of seeds with tricky first-round opponents.

Top seed Lleyton Hewitt will take on 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moya who thrives on clay and was in good form at the Estoril Open last week.

Hewitt will be playing in only his fourth tournament this year after being struck with chicken pox at the beginning of the season.

Second seed Juan Carlos Ferrero, yet to hit top form this year, takes on fellow Spaniard, Albert Portas.

Portas, nicknamed the 'Dropshot Dragon', is a wily campaigner on clay and caused a surprise by winning the Hamburg Masters last year.

In the absence of defending champion Gustavo Kuerten, who is recovering from hip surgery, Ferrero could be a contender for the title if he can play himself into some form.

Safin will need to be fully focused to beat Robredo

Sixth-seeded Russian Marat Safin will not be relishing his draw which sees him up against improving Spanish teenager Tommy Robredo.

Seventh seed Sebastien Grosjean meets the returning Mark Philippoussis while fifth seed Tommy Haas could struggle against unpredictable Frenchman Nicolas Escude.

As well as French Open champion Kuerten, Americans Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras have also withdrawn from the event.

Agassi cited "insufficient preparation", organisers said, while Sampras gave no reason for his withdrawal, according to a statement from the tournament.

The event is the first in a series of warm-ups for the French Open which begins at the end of May.