Hewitt optimistic as Qualifying begins

Lleyton Hewitt believes his chances of playing at the forthcoming French Open are still looking good despite injuring his ankle at a tournament in Austria overnight.

Hewitt's manager, Rob Aivatoglou, said, "Lleyton will be having an MRI scan later today as a precautionary measure but the initial doctor's examinations suggest there is no ligament damage. We're optimitistic that he will be fit for the French Open but will know more once we get the results of the scan."

Main draw action doesn't get underway until Sunday but in the meantime four other Australian men will be aiming to join world No.14 Lleyton Hewitt and wildcard recipient Nathan Healey in the main draw when the men's qualifying tournament gets underway this afternoon (Tuesday) at 5pm AEST (9am Paris time).

New father Wayne Arthurs - who will also play doubles at Roland Garros with fellow Optus Australian Davis Cup teammate Hewitt - takes on Arvind Parmar of Great Britain, and Chris Guccione plays No.21 seed Alejandro Fall of Colombia.

Alun Jones of the ACT takes on Oscar Hernandez of Spain while Melbourne's Peter Luczak - off the circuit in recent weeks with illness - plays No.23 seeded Garry Lugassy of France.

Healey, ranked 195 in Australia, won the Tennis Australia wildcard play-off at the weekend, and is contesting his first main draw French Open.

The women's qualifying event starts tomorrow, with entries yet to be finalised however Nicole Pratt (ranked 139) and Casey Dellacqua (186) look certain to compete.

Alicia Molik, who returns to her first Grand Slam tournament since the US Open in 2005, won the women's wildcard play-off in a close three-set encounter with Sophie Ferguson.

Samantha Stosur, who is now ranked No.43 in singles and No.1 in doubles, is Australia's other main draw representative.

French Open maindraw action gets underway this Sunday, May 28, with the draw taking place on Friday.

Fox Sports will provide live coverage from 7pm AEST.