Oxfordshire's Tim Henman is in buoyant mood as he prepares to face American Robby Ginepri in the second round of the Stella Artois Championship at Queen's Club today.

The British No 1, who lives at Aston Tirrold, near Didcot, has been practising on grass since his early exit from the French Open.

And he will be hoping to avoid a repeat of last year's performance when he lost in three sets to Karol Beck in his only competitive match on the surface before Wimbledon.

"Losing so early at the French Open was disappointing, but every cloud has a silver lining," Henman admitted. "Last year I suffered because I had very little time to rest and get used to the grass after Paris.

"This year its been nice not to have to rush things. I feel good physically and it was nice to feel the grass beneath my feet last week."

Ginepri beat Germany's Lars Burgmuller 6-2, 6-2 in the first round yesterday to set up the last-32 clash with Henman, who received a bye as the No 3 seed.

Greg Rusedski, who was surprisingly beaten in the first round of the Surbiton Trophy last week, got his Wimbledon preparations back on track with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over fellow Briton Josh Goodall.

And Andrew Murray took advantage of a wildcard to thrash Spain's Santiago Ventura 6-1, 6-2 for his first ATP Tour win.