Nieminen prepared for crowd battle

Jarkko Nieminen is ready to face a partisan Centre Court crowd when he takes on home favourite Tim Henman at Wimbledon today.

The pair clash in the first round this afternoon as Henman begins his 12th attempt to claim the title he covets the most.

Nieminen is confident of providing the sixth seed with a tough test after beating Andre Agassi in the first round of the French Open recently.

“It’s one of the biggest games on grass and it will be very tough,” the 23-year-old Finn said.

“But I’ll take heart from Paris. That was good preparation. The crowd there were mostly on Agassi’s side so I have nothing to lose.

“Everyone expects Henman to win so I will have absolutely no pressure on me. He has all the pressure on him.

“I already know what to expect and I don’t mind. It’s a great moment to be on Centre Court. Everyone here always dreams of playing at Wimbledon and it’s a great experience.

“I’ll go out there to try to win the match and believe I have a chance. I know he’ll be coming to the net a lot and pressuring returns.”