17. David Ferrer

Born: 02/04/82 Nationality: Spanish Seeded: 17 World ranking: 16 Wimbledon best: 2nd round (2003 & 2004) Recent record: 2004: 2nd round 2003: 2nd round 2002: Did not play

Unsurprisingly for a Spaniard, Ferrer excels on clay and reached the quarter-finals of the French Open last month.

There he fought tooth-and-nail for a set with Rafael Nadal before being overwhelmed by the Spanish prodigy.

It was the first time in his 10 Grand Slam events to date that Ferrer had got beyond the second round and marked another chapter in his developing career.

He won his first ATP Tour title in Bucharest in 2002 but it was not until 2004 that he managed to end the year in the world's top 50.

That came after a consistent season in which he reached at least the quarter-finals of seven events.

A good first half of 2005 has propelled him further up the rankings but grass will be a different proposition for Ferrer, whose two previous Wimbledon visits have yielded one win on each occasion.