You mean for seedings? Yes, it is the rankings on the Monday before the draw.

I don't think any of the Brits will be holding their breath!

Unless Andy has a good run in Barcelona, Rome and Hamburg. . .

qualifying entry list will be released sometime in the week beginning 29th April (probably on the wednesday - 1st may)

so he has one more week to improve his ranking.

last year the cut off point was 241 but after withdrawals it ended up being 269

this time the alternates are ranked about 123 so i think the qualies will start with players ranked about 120 (last year it was 91). So if you are ranked 260-290 with a bit of luck you'll make it.

Jamie is ranked 278 so it'll be touch and go to see if he can make it to the qualies....

Interesting developments. I'm particularly pleased about the fact that the final round of qualifying will be shown on Eurosport. Maybe in a few years time, grand slam qualifying will be shown on BBCi !!

My friend has Eurosport so if Boggo's into the final qualies round I'll try and persuade him to record the match !

I think quite a few of the players were unhappy about the tournament starting on the Sunday. Do you think it's good or bad ?

the reason given was to allow the players some rest time.

From the Eurosport website:
http://www.eurosport.com/tennis/roland-garros/2006/sport_sto891481.shtml

"Too soon for Murray" by Ben Harris:

Once again another grand slam comes around with the hopes of British tennis in the hands of so few. Both Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski are on the slide and for the new bright hope of British tennis, young Scot Andrew Murray, this year's French Open has come year too soon.

Murray, who has only just turned 19, arrived on the tour with a bang last year with runs to the third round at both Queen's club and Wimbledon before going on to finish the season inside the top 100.

f all the British challengers in Paris this year, his credentials would appear to be the strongest considering his upbringing on the clay of Barcelona.

Murray's experience outside the usual LTA system has given him a more rounded game than other British players of recent years, a huge advantage on the relatively slow clay to be found at Roland Garros.

However, despite this advantage, the world number 45 has struggled since the tour moved onto clay winning only two matches in four tournaments. A real shock considering his appearance in the final of the juniors event at the French Open last year.

There have been moments of enlightenment, such as his victory over French prodigy Gael Monfils at last week's Hamburg Masters, but victories of this nature have been extremely rare.

For example, during his shocking first round exit in Monaco at the hands of the virtually unknown Jean-Rene Lisnard Murray seemed to be struggling to remember the tactics required to succeed on clay after nearly a year away from the surface.

To win on the slowest of surfaces takes a special mindset with patience and an ability to structure the point rather than blasting winners being the order of the day.

Andy seems to have forgotten this and while these are skills he will certainly regain, this year's French Open may have come a little too soon on his development curve.

Doubtless Murray is well capable of causing a couple of shocks in Paris, but there are still concerns about his stamina and endurance if asked to play a sequence of best-of-five set matches.

But with time on his side, the future still look bright for the slightly built teenager from Dunblane.

HENMAN HEROICS?

At the other end of his career path, Tim Henman surely knows that his best years are now behind him.

However, the Oxford man has shown in the past that he can compete on clay with his all-court game, causing a stir as he progressed to the semi-finals in Paris in 2004, before falling to Guillermo Coria in four thrilling sets.

But this year form has deserted the former world number four with his tumble down the world rankings now leaving him third in the British rankings after years at the top of the domestic game.

While still able to beat some of the top players on his day, boasting wins over Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt earlier this season, those days are becoming few and far between as Henman rides into the twilight of his life on tour.

RUSEDSKI BULLET

Even at the venerable age of 32 the Canadian-born Greg Rusedski is still a dangerous proposition for all but the very best, back willing, with his prodigious serve still in his armoury.

As he showed as recently as two weeks ago at the Masters Series in Rome, he can still beat even the most ardent of clay courters with a shock three set victory over Tommy Robredo, winner of his first Masters tournament in Hamburg on Sunday.

But, with Rusedski very much in the same boat at Henman, he will struggle to get very far at Roland Garros as consistency continues to be his main enemy.

For those looking to see British involvement go beyond the first week in France this year, prospects are looking rather bleak. But, in the shape of Andy Murray there is a real ray of hope for the future.

Tomorrow at 11:30am CET.. So meaning that will be 10:30am our time..