The old campaigner: Michael Chang

This is the American's 14th visit to Wimbledon, yet he is still only 30. He has always been a fine competitor, who won the French Open and reached three other Grand Slam finals, but the best result he has been able to produce at SW19 was a quarter-final in 1994. Grass does not agree with him, but, typically, he refuses to give up and makes the journey across the Atlantic every year. "You just can't miss Wimbledon," he says.

The home hopeful: Barry Cowan

An hour into his Centre Court debut last summer against Pete Sampras, Cowan was two sets down and heading for home. Most fans had long since left the arena and taken in a number of cups of tea by the time incredible news started to spread. Cowan had levelled the match at two sets all and, although he eventually lost, he won many hearts. His reward is a far kinder first round this year against Attila Savolt.

The maverick: Andrei Pavel

You might wonder what the 14th seed likes to do between matches: take in the sights, do a spot of shopping, get on to the practice court? Not Andrei. The Romanian, who reached the quarter-finals of the French Open last month, has never made an impact at Wimbledon. Why? He is obsessed with fishing and likes to go out early in the morning. Fans should look out for him on the banks of the Thames this week.

The outside courtier: Scott Draper

Of all the qualifiers, Australia's Scott Draper was the one the British wanted to avoid. Not only did he progress without dropping a set at Roehampton, but he also has an excellent pedigree on grass – winning the Stella Artois at Queen's in 1998. So guess what, Tim Henman could face him as early as the second round. The one consolation is that he has never progressed beyond the second round.