Tim Henman insists he is ''looking forward to getting started'' at the Australian Open as he continues his quest for a first Grand Slam title.

The British No 1 missed out on the event due to injury last year and begins his campaign in Melbourne against Jean-Rene Lisnard today.

Henman has met the Frenchman once before, also Down Under, and is fully focused on a repeat.

''We played a few years ago in Adelaide and I managed to get the better of him in three sets,'' Henman admitted.

''There's been a lot of water under the bridge since then so I'm not sure how much significance that result will have.

''I'm going to go into the match focusing primarily on my own game. I have a good idea what I want to do and if I can execute my game plan well enough I'm confident I can get the right result.

''The last few months have been a very positive time for me and I'm looking to extend that here in Melbourne. I always enjoy coming here and I'm looking forward to getting started.''

Henman arrives in good form, winning at the Paris Masters Series event last October and beginning 2004 by reaching the semi-finals of the Exxon Mobil Open in Qatar.

He will hope to at least equal or better his previous best performance in Melbourne, having reached the last 16 in each of his last three appearances.

The Oxford-born player was edged out in five sets by American Chris Woodruff in 2000, lost to home favourite Pat Rafter in three sets in 2001 and was ousted in straight sets by Jonas Bjorkman in 2002.

If he can beat Lisnard, Henman will face the winner of the first-round clash between Italy's Davide Sanguinetti and Radek Stepanek.

His compatriot Greg Rusedski will try and put aside the negative publicity which has surrounded the news that he has tested positive for nandrolone by beating former French Open champion Albert Costa of Spain.

Victory would set up a clash with either Wayne Arthurs of Australia or Croatian qualifier Roko Karanusic.

* Australian Open organisers breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when second seed Kim Clijsters confirmed, after nearly two weeks battling an ankle injury, that she would not pull out of the season-opening grand slam.

In the time Clijsters worked her way back to somewhere nearing competitive fitness, the women's draw was shorn of a number of leading stars, most notably the defending champion, Serena Williams.

The American's withdrawal was followed by those of double champion Jennifer Capriati, 1995 winner Mary Pierce and Jelena Dokic, leaving the cupboard heading into Monday's first day looking decidedly bare.

Even those still scheduled to play have injury clouds of varying shades of grey hanging over them.

World No 1 Justin Henin-Hardenne required treatment last week for a slight ankle sprain, while fifth seed Lindsay Davenport pulled out of her adidas International semi-final with a shoulder injury.

Then there is Venus Williams, controversially promoted from 11th in the world to third seed, who has not played a competitive tournament since losing the Wimbledon final last July.

Then, of course, there is Clijsters, who admitted she still does not have full confidence in the ankle.

With Amelie Mauresmo seeded fourth, it is difficult to see the winner coming from outside the top five names, yet few will publicly agree the reduced field enhances their victory chances.

''It's an individual sport,'' said Clijsters, who lost in the semi-finals last year to Serena Williams, despite being 5-1 up in the deciding set.

''Of course you see people pulling out, but it's still very strong. You have four of the top five players here. It's still a very tough tournament.''

Davenport is the only former champion in the draw for the 2004 Open, though the strained shoulder muscle means she does not plan to practise any serves until the warm-up of her match against Romanian Ruxandra Dragomir Ilie.

The 2000 champion underwent an operation towards the end of last year, which cleared up an ongoing foot concern and has left her with more confidence of surviving two weeks of Grand Slam tennis.

''I'm still playing because I feel I can be a threat - whether that's winning and holding up the trophy, I'm not sure,'' she said.