By Caroline Cheese

The world's best head to Queen's this week for the first grasscourt warm-up ahead of Wimbledon. But who is brimming with confidence, and who is searching for form after the French Open?

Roddick was bundled out of the French Open in the second round by little-known Frenchman Olivier Mutis, but it is unlikely to worry the world number two unduly.

The 21-year-old is still getting to grips with the red clay, and his preparations for Roland Garros were upset by a virus days before the tournament began.

This time last year, Roddick stepped up a gear from young pretender to potential champion, winning Queen's before reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon.

He says he is "super excited" about returning to London for the grasscourt season, and his early exit in Paris has given him plenty of time to get used to the grass under his feet.

On the face of it, Agassi's first-round defeat to world number 271 Jerome Haehnel in Paris was one of the biggest shocks in Grand Slam history.

But in reality, the 34-year-old was ripe for an upset after playing just one match, another defeat, ahead of the tournament.

Agassi chose to spend the European clay-court season at home with pregnant wife Steffi Graf and son Jaden, and though he says he has made no decision about retiring, it would be a surprise if he continued beyond the end of 2004.

Handed a wildcard for Queen's, Agassi, more than anyone, desperately needs match practice ahead of Wimbledon, the tournament he won in 1992.

The British number one's French Open exploits mean 'Henmania' is likely to be more frenzied than ever this year.

A shoulder injury meant Henman's fans lived more in hope than belief in 2003, but the Briton heads to the grass this year as a Grand Slam semi-finalist away from Wimbledon and the holder of a prestigious Masters Series title.

"I'll be going to Queen's with a lot of wins under my belt and a lot of confidence," the 29-year-old said.

And if can impose his aggressive gameplan on the grass the way he did on the Paris clay, Henman can expect to mount another strong challenge at Wimbledon.

When Coria committed to Queen's in May, he might have imagined arriving in London as the newly-crowned French Open champion.

Gaudio claims French crown

Instead, he is a beaten finalist who, through a combination of nerves and cramp, surrendered a commanding two-set lead to compatriot Gaston Gaudio.

But despite the physical and emotional efforts, the 22-year-old insists he will honour his commitment to Queen's, where the clay-court specialist will bid to win his first ever match on grass.

"I don't know how I will feel mentally, but I will do everything to win the tournament and I will try to forget what happened," he said in the aftermatch of his Paris defeat.

Hewitt is showing signs of recapturing the form which made him world number one two years ago.

The Australian performed admirably in Paris, reaching the quarter-finals on his least favourite surface and that run should give him plenty of confidence as he heads to London.

The feeling remains that Hewitt may never reach the very peak again, with competition tougher than ever in the shape of Roger Federer, Roddick, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Guillermo Coria.

But the 23-year-old former Wimbledon champion, who has a hat-trick of titles at Queen's, looks certain to banish the memories of a stunning first-round defeat to Ivo Karlovic at SW19 last year.

The 2003 Wimbledon finalist will be more relieved than most to return to the grass, his strongest surface.

This year, Philippoussis went four months without winning a match after reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open in January.

It caused little more than a ripple of surprise when he went out of the French Open in the first round to clay-court specialist Luis Horna.

With his serve firing, Philippoussis should again be a danger on grass but like Agassi, he needs to get some wins under his belt if he is to repeat last year's Wimbledon heroics, starting at Queen's.