Henman cool with seeding

Tim Henman today sidestepped the furore over his seeding at Wimbledon by insisting that being No5 rather than No3 would not hurt his chances of winning a first Grand Slam title.

Defending champion Roger Federer is top seed, followed by Queen's champion Andy Roddick, but it is the All England Club's decision to put Henman below clay court experts Guillermo Coria and David Nalbandian that does not make sense.

However, Henman refused to be drawn into the controversy. The British No1 and recent French Open semi-finalist said: "It's always nice to be seeded and the higher the better," said Henman. "However, I don't think that will count for anything when the tournament begins.

"The depth of men's tennis is such that, irrespective of who you play, if you're not on your game you'll struggle. So I'm just concentrating on getting my mind and body in the best shape possible and taking it from there. If I can execute my game plan to the best of my ability, I feel I'm good enough to beat anybody on grass and that's exactly what I'll be trying to do."

Henman trained with former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt at the All England Club yesterday and is delighted with his form.

"Practising with Lleyton is always challenging and very enjoyable as he puts 100 per cent into everything," Henman said. "His competitiveness is obvious so it always makes for a great session."